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“ JPOGER WILLIAMS, I CHARGE 

YOU TO HOLD YOUR RE ACE I" 




wm 

PURITAN 


and 


PEQUOT 



William Murray Graydon 

d^uihor of 

‘‘in the Days of Washington" 
etc. 


lUustrrated 

Clyde 0* De Land 



THEFENNc^ 

PUBLISHING 

I COin.PANY<r*»= 

I PHILADELPHIA 
AV C >V IV 









LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

MAY 2 1904 

Copyrlffht Entry 


'L.la Q i*' 

CLAS^ CL- xXc. No. 


S >r ^ -I ‘r 

COPY B 


-J— ^ 


Copyright 1904 by’ The Penn Publishing Company 


0 




« • # • • 

« • « • -« 

t • ♦ • • 


’ • • • « • 




» • • • 


With Puritan and Pequot, 


Contents 


CHAP. 


PACK 

I 

In Which Master Jennicom Hath a 
Troubled Mind 

5 

II 

In Which Sir Lanslott Charmion 
Comes to Plymouth 

i6 

III 

In Which the Governor Lends Him- 
self TO A Plot 

33 

IV 

In Which There’s a Secret Meeting 
AND AN Uninvited Guest .... 

52 

V 

In Which Rufus Braves the Gover- 
nor’s Wrath 

63 

VI 

In Which Winged Death Plays a 
Tragedy 

77 

VII 

In Which Black Betty is^^Well 
Avenged 

89 

VIII 

In Which the Plymouth Trail Yields 
Further Adventure 

107 

IX 

In Which the Lads Fall in With 
Merry but Doubtful Company 

120 

X 

In Which Captain Standish and His 
Musketeers Play the Leading 
Part 

132 

XI 

In Which the Storm Breaks . . . 

144 

XII 

In Which There’s a General Jail- 
Delivery 

164 

XIII 

In Which Pybus Foulfoot Finds Him- 
self in a Tight Corner .... 

7 

178 


3 


4 


Contents 


XIV In Which There’s a T ragic End to a 

Man-Hunt ipo 

XV In Which a Pretty Plot is Hatched 
Within the Admiral Blake at 
Dorchester 208 

XVI In Which Constable Blades is Very 

Much Upset 222 

XVII In Which Rufus Makes a Fresh 

Start 236 

XVIII In Which Captain Underhill Re- 
ceives Written Orders and Rufus 
Learns a Secret 248 

XIX In Which Rufus Rides to His Fate . 258 

XX In Which Governor Vane Receives 

Tidings from the Wilderness . . 270 

XXI In Which Roger Williams Takes 
His Life in His Hands and Rufus 
Departs from Narragansett Bay, 282 

XXII In Which Old Friends Turn Up, and 

Dirk Hobbema Tells the News . 294 

XXIII In W hich Villainy is Frustrated and 

A Prisoner Taken 3 ^^ 

XXIV In Which There’s a Race for Life 

AND A Surprise at the End of It . 327 

XXV In Which Pybus Foulfoot Plays His 

Last Part 34 ® 

XXVI In Which Vaylmer Laplash Speaks 

AND THE Dawn Breaks in Red Fury, 363 

XXVII In Which Rufus Makes His Choice . 384 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

“ Roger Williams, I Charge You to Hold 


Your Peace!’* Frontispiece 

“Defend Yourself, Sir,” he Cried .... 45 

“ Tis Captain Standish and his Musket- 
eers!” 134/^ 

“ Now, Hands Up,” said Jennicom 183 

He Flashed a Light in the Faces of the 

Group 267-^ 

Almost Immediately the Canoe Filled and 

Sank 320 ' 

The Massive Gate Toppled Inward .... 376 ^ 


> 


With Puritan and Pequot 


CHAPTER I 

IN WHICH MASTER JENNICOM HATH A TROUBLED 
MIND 

Jeremy Quills, town watchman of New 
Plymouth, sat quietly in a block of stone in 
the middle of the gloomy square. His chin 
rested on his chest, and his arms dangled 
limply between his sprawled-out legs, across 
which rested a long double-barreled musket. 
A brazier stood near by on three rusty feet, 
keeping company with a group of cannon, 
and its fire, sunk to a mass of glowing 
embers, still burst at intervals to a little blaze 
that threw ruddy flashes toward the surround- 
ing houses and the dark mouths of the four 
diverging streets. It is very much to be 
feared that Jeremy Quills, town watchman, 
was asleep. 

A dog barked in the distance, and as 


6 With Puritan and Pequot 

though startled Jeremy suddenly sprang to 
his feet. He picked up his musket, and 
looked guiltily about him. Then he caught 
up an armful of pitched wood, but ere he 
could throw it into the brazier he discerned 
the silvery-gray flush, as yet very faint, that 
was trembling on the eastern horizon. 

“ There’s no occasion for it now,” he said 
aloud, letting the wood fall. “ ’Tis half after 
three o’clock, and a flne ” 

He turned sharply on his heel at the sound 
of footsteps, and saw indistinctly a little group 
of men approaching from the right, along the 
upper side of the square. With light, regular 
tread, with glint of steel and clank of armor, 
they came on as far as the corner by the 
Governor’s house, where at a low word of 
command they halted. 

“ After three o’clock, and a flne morning,” 
mumbled Jeremy. “ The Lord hath delivered 
us from the perils and snares of the ungodly, 
from blood3^-minded redskins and all evil 
things of the forest, through the dark watches 
of another night. Praised be his name ! 
Amen ! And yonder, I vow, be Captain 
Standish and his company. At sunset went 


With Puritan and Pequot 7 

they forth, seeking a strange craft suspected 
of intent to land weapons and strong waters 
for unlawful barter with the savages. And 
with what result ? Empty-handed ? Ay, ’tis 
even so.” 

The file of soldiers was in motion again, 
quickly and quietly marching up the street, 
and their leader, having dismissed them to 
the fort, was crossing the open space at a 
brisk gait. As he drew near, making to pass 
within a few feet of the brazier, the flickering 
glow of the embers touched his sword and 
firelock, and played athwart the stern, hand- 
some face that in the past had been wont to 
strike terror to the hearts of Spanish foemen 
in the Low Countries, and now was feared 
and respected by the lawless element of the 
Plymouth plantation. 

“ My respects to you, sir,” ventured Jeremy, 
saluting properly with his forefinger as he 
addressed the bluff, eagle-eyed old soldier. 

Didst fall in with any of the pestilent 
rogues, might I ask ? ” 

Captain Miles Standish ignored the refer- 
ence to his fruitless expedition. 

“ My man, art desirous of a reprimand from 


8 With Puritan and Pequot 

the Governor ? — not to speak of worse things/’ 
he said curtly. Look you, the darkest hour 
is just before the dawn, and yet you’ve neg- 
lected your fire when ’twas most needed. 
Have a care. Quills, lest you be brought to the 
pillory.” 

With that the Captain passed on, striding 
waterward to take boat to his home at Dux- 
bury, the sister settlement across an arm of 
the harbor. And Jeremy, his vigil ended, 
pondered the rebuke uneasily as he toddled 
off to breakfast and bed, with his back to the 
breaking day. 

Early as was the hour, Plymouth was 
awake and astir. Smoking chimneys began 
to pour their incense to the cool air, and the 
first wreathing blue column to thus signal the 
morning came from a house that stood on 
high ground, near the northern verge of the 
town. Its owner. Carver Jennicom, rose at 
the same hour winter and summer, and took 
pride in his Spartan habits, though oddly 
enough he allowed more indulgence to the 
adopted son who shared his home. When he 
had set the fire burning, and had called twice 
up the ladder, it was time to unbar the door 


With Puritan and Pequot 9 

and outer gate to admit Remembrance Tyb- 
bott, a widow neighbor who, for housewifely 
purposes, had filled the shoes of Dame 
Patience Jennicom since that worthy woman’s 
decease ten years before. 

The widow having gone forth to milk the 
cow. Master Jennicom lighted a lanthorn, 
took a key from his pocket, and unlocked the 
massive door of a deep closet that was built to 
one side of the fireplace. He shut himself 
within, and standing the lanthorn on a low 
shelf that held inkhorn, quills, and pounce- 
box, with a second key he opened an English 
chest of carved oak. 

From beneath a heap of clothing, where it 
rested cheek-by-jowl with two bulging canvas- 
bags, Jennicom drew a large, thick volume, 
brass-clamped and bound in age-worn leather. 
It was his treasured diary, and though never 
a morning passed but he made personally sure 
of its safety, the records inscribed within were 
often weeks apart. To-day, however, he was 
in the purpose to write, and having spread the 
book open on the lid of the chest, himself 
seated on a stool, he dipped a quill into the ink. 

“ Ye 29th of May, 1636,” he scrawled slowly 


lo With Puritan and Pequot 

and minutely. I begin greatly to fear that 
ye cherished and Godly designs whereof I 
have steadfastly hoped that a brand from the 
burning ’’ 

He stopped, pondering with knitted brow 
and pursed lips, then wrote industriously on 
to the bottom of the page, when he sprinkled 
sand on the wet lines, and with a sigh closed 
the heavy volume and restored it to its hid- 
ing-place. A moment later chest and closet 
were tight-locked on their secrets, and the 
stern-faced Puritan was searching the Scrip- 
ture for a suitable chapter with which to com- 
mence the day^s labors. 

Meanwhile Rufus Jennicom had leisurely 
pulled on his homespun clothing, his thick 
hose and shoes, and was now standing by the 
gable window of the sleeping-loft — a tall, 
well-knit lad of eighteen, with tawny brown 
hair and eyes a shade darker, and a fine easy 
carriage that lost none of its inherent grace by 
reason of his uncomely garb. 

The window commanded the greater part 
of the settlement, and the view from it had 
been familiar to Rufus Jennicom^s eyes for 
twelve years and more. Why he had lingered 


11 


With Puritan and Pequot 

on this particular morning to see the day- 
birth repeat itself, what strange leaven was 
working in his boyish mind, he could not 
have told. But there he stood, gravely quiet, 
while the saffron-tinted sky in the east bright- 
ened and spread, and Carver Jennicom waited 
impatiently below. 

Rising from the far rim of the Atlantic, 
leaping the rocky, wind-swept peninsula of 
Cape Cod and flushing across the waters of 
the inner sea, the radiant May sun kissed the 
huddled craft in the harbor, threw the out- 
lines of the landing-wharf into bold relief, and 
streamed wantonly among the haunts of men. 
Sixteen years earlier, and naught save the 
primeval forest, dark and forbidding, would 
have greeted the sunrise. The forest was 
there still, a thing of superstitious terrors and 
real dangers, ever present to the minds of the 
sturdy settlers ; but in its very jaws, clinging 
obstinately to the cleared soil, now nestled the 
little town that the Pilgrim fathers had planted. 

Straight from the shore mounted the main 
street, comfortably wide, and with detached 
houses ranged at intervals on both sides, each 
built of hewn planks, boasting its bit of gar- 


12 


With Puritan and Pequot 

den, and well stockaded for security. Mid- 
way up ran a cross-street, with four cannon in 
the middle of the open square, and at one 
corner the more pretentious residence of the 
Governor. Climb yet higher, to the crown of 
the hill, and you would have come to the 
fort, squarely and stoutly made, sweeping the 
country roundabout, and with six pieces of 
frowning artilleiy planted on its flat roof, a 
constant menace to insidious foes. Here the 
colonists held their town meetings, and here 
regularly attended church service, marching 
thither in military array, to listen to the ser- 
mon with one hand clasping the cold steel of 
musket or firelock, with one ear for the min- 
ister and one for the call of alarm. 

The harsh and unlovely aspects of human 
life, the monotony of daily toil, the struggle 
for bare existence, the perpetual companion- 
ship of men who shaped their religion in the 
gloomiest possible mould — such were the 
thoughts that stirred vaguely in Rufus Jenni- 
com’s heart, as he gazed from the window at 
sea and forest and town. He felt a sudden 
discontent, a burning grievance against the 
law of destiny. 


With Puritan and Pequot 13 

'' I am tired of it all,” he told himself, and 
not for the first time. “ Work, and bed, and 
work again, with a long sermon twice on Sun- 
days, and now and then a day’s shooting or 
fishing. ’Twas different when Master Brewster 
was here, for in the evenings ” 

Rufus ! Rufus ! ” 

The peremptory hail broke the lad’s reveries, 
and stifling his rebellious mood he descended 
the ladder to the ground floor. Carver Jen- 
nicom straightened his six feet of bone and 
sinew. He had been a game-keeper in former 
years, and though now verging on sixty he 
was still erect and vigorous, a man of iron will 
and body, with a rugged, weather-beaten face 
that bore the stamp of his character. Imbued 
with the deep religious feelings that made 
dissenters from the Church of England, almost 
a fanatic on some points and yet capable of 
kindly impulses and strong affections, he was 
an admirable type of the early Puritan. 

‘‘ You’ve loitered over long,” he said coldly. 

What kept you ? ” 

I — I was thinking,” Rufus stammered. 

Of what, lad ? ” 

Indeed, I hardly remember, sir.” 


14 With Puritan and Pequot 


The old man gave him a keen glance, but 
said no more. He read briefly from the Bible, 
followed with a prayer, and then the two sat 
down to their frugal breakfast ; after which, 
leaving Dame Tybbott to her pots and kettles, 
they went off to cultivate their allotment 
across the town, each burdened with hoe and 
musket. 

Though the sun had not yet appeared above 
the horizon, Plymouth was as wide-awake as 
ever it would be. From doors and gateways 
the women-folk saw the men setting forth to 
their various pursuits, some to toil in fields of 
springing corn and maize, some to fell hard 
timber for shipment to England ; others to 
reap the harvest of the sea, or turn the white- 
fleshed fish on the curing-racks, while a few, 
traveling in company and armed to the teeth, 
filed solemnly into the forest trails in quest of 
Indians who had furs to barter for the products 
of civilization. 

Governor Bradford, in loose gown and easy 
cap, took the air in his garden, and from a 
narrow window over the jail door a haggard 
face, pressed against the bars, ruefully surveyed 
the pillory and the whipping-post. So the day 


With Puritan and Pequot 15 

began in New Plymouth, and over all the 
moving scene on that May morning of 1636, 
over surrounding forest and far-reaching sea, 
trained eyes watched from the flat top of the 
fort ; for eternal vigilance was the price our 
Puritan fathers paid for the safety of the 
anchorage they had snatched from the New 
England wilderness. 


CHAPTER II 


IN WHICH SIR LANSLOTT CHARMION COMES TO 
PLYMOUTH 

The day wore on, languid with heat and 
drowsy with the hum of insects, until the noon 
hour. Now, from field and forest, might have 
been seen a number of the absent toilers troop- 
ing back into the settlement, and among them 
Carver Jennicom and his son, as Rufus was 
commonly regarded by the Plymouth folk. 
Dinner was waiting for them, and in lonely 
silence they began to eat and drink. Remem- 
brance Tybbott having bustled off to her own 
home across the way, where she had a grown 
nephew to feed and look after. 

All the morning Jennicom had been pre- 
occupied, deep in thought, while he heaped the 
soft earth around the tender green shoots of 
the maize. This moody frame of mind he 
brought to the table, uttering not a syllable 
himself, and giving his companion no encour- 
agement to speak. At the same moment they 
pushed their platters aside and rose, the man 

i6 


With Puritan and Pequot 17 

reaching for the well-worn Bible that lay on a 
shelf. 

“ Sit you down again, lad,’’ he said. “ A 
reading from the Good Word will not come 
amiss ere we return to our ” 

“ Hark ! ” Rufus broke in. “ Do you hear? 
— ’tis like men shouting.” 

Jennicom’s ear, a little less keen than the 
lad’s, had also caught a confused noise in the 
distance. Just then a dog began to bark fu- 
riously in a neighboring garden, and Rufus 
hastened to the window. A frown grew on 
Jennicom’s brow as he stood holding the book 
open in his hands. The next instant it was 
closed and on the shelf, for Dame Tybbott had 
rushed into the room, her face flushed like a 
winter apple. 

Alack-a-day ! Mercy on us ! ” she cried. 

Hast heard the news. Master Jennicom? A 
ship — a great ship — in sight ! ’Tis filled with 
cannon and armed men, who’ve surely been 
sent to visit the King’s wrath upon us. 
What’s to be done? Oh, what’s to be done? ” 
Quiet yourself, good dame, and curb that 
loose tongue of yours,” Jennicom sternly 
bade her. 


i8 With Puritan and Pequot 

’Tis true — ’tis true as gospel/^ wailed the 
frightened old woman. “ Master Brigges told 


“ I’ll believe naught till I see with my own 
eyes. Come, Rufus,” he added, and we’ll 
look into this unlikely tale.” 

He picked up his musket, put it down con- 
temptuously, and then followed the lad from 
the house, while Dame Tybbott sank breathless 
and trembling into a high-backed chair. 

The dog having ceased to bark by the time 
Jennicom and Rufus emerged from the gate- 
way of the palisade, they could distinctly 
hear the clamor that was now ringing from 
end to end of the town. Picking up others 
on the way, they hurried on to the open space 
by the Governor’s residence, where they found 
a state of affairs that did indeed lend some 
color to the dame’s alarming story. 

There was a great noise of shouting and 
calling, with shriller cries of terrified women 
and children. From all sides men in sombre 
cloaks and steeple-crowned hats, in steel caps 
and corselets, carrying firelocks, swords, and 
side-arms, were running to and fro ; some 
aimlessly, some up the hill, but for the most 


With Puritan and Pequot 19 

part down toward the harbor. Governor 
Bradford was standing at his gate, plainly 
giving orders to an excited group that sur- 
rounded him. A thick jet of smoke flashed 
on the roof of the fort, and a cannon spoke 
with thunderous voice to summon tardy 
stragglers from the forest. 

Rufus climbed to one of the four pieces of 
ordnance, which had already been shifted to 
a better position, and over the house-tops at 
the foot of the hill he caught a glimpse of 
snowy canvas far across the bay. 

“ Look ! look ! ’’ he exclaimed. “ There 
she is ! ” 

Ay, a King’s ship,” cried Jeremy Quills, 
who was gunner as well as watchman, and 
had tumbled out of his bed at the first alarm. 
“ And what will she be bringing but armed 
men to enforce his Majesty’s demands ? ’Tis 
a woeful day for Plymouth.” 

To account for the disquieting apprehen- 
sions that had disturbed the noonday peace 
of Plymouth, it is necessary to go back to the 
previous year, 1635, when a most unpopular 
and odious measure was instigated by the 
authorities at home against their self-govern- 


20 


With Puritan and Pequot 

ing subjects of New England. Part of the 
blame rested with Archbishop Laud, who had 
seen with disapproval how the colony of 
Massachusetts Bay was becoming a stronghold 
for his religious foes, the Puritans and non- 
conformists ; part lay with a few jealous and 
influential persons, members of the old 
council for New England. The result was an 
action brought by the law officers of the 
Crown in the Court of King’s Bench, and a 
judgment obtained against the Massachusetts 
colony — and applying equally to the adjacent 
Plymouth colony — declaring its charter fore- 
feited, its government transferred to the 
King’s hands, and authorizing the despatch 
of a Governor-General to rule both plantations. 

On the news crossing the sea, submission was 
undreamed of, and the magistrates decided to 
resist by force. A mediator was appointed 
and sent to England, and meanwhile fortifica- 
tions were erected in Boston harbor and at 
Charlestown and Dorchester, citizens were 
drilled in the use of arms, and beacons were 
stacked on all the sentry hills. But the King’s 
poverty, the ominous signs of revolution at 
home and the tardiness of the tax-payers. 


21 


With Puritan and Pequot 

doubtless prevented a bloody fray in America. 
Weeks grew to months, and the judgment was 
not enforced. The sister colonies lived on 
under their forfeited charters pretty much as 
if nothing had happened, though none knew 
how long they would remain undisturbed or 
what mischief was brewing over sea. Thus 
you can understand how the rumored ap- 
proach of a King’s ship bearing an armed 
force, on that May morning of 1636, roused 
the martial spirit of the Plymouth settlers, 
and found them anxious but determined, ready 
to fight for their rights should it be necessary. 

Many people had fiocked to the shore, 
where they darkened the landing wharf, and 
swarmed thickly to right and left of it, along 
the water’s edge. With some difficulty Carver 
Jennicom pushed his tall figure through the 
crowd, Rufus dogging his heels. The strange 
vessel, whatever she might be, was certainly 
of no small dimensions. She was as yet three 
or four miles distant, and it was a pretty sight 
to see her forging ahead under full sail, with 
a puffy stern wind bellying her white canvas, 
beating south by west across the inner bay. 
Eager eyes kept pace with her, and men 


22 With Puritan and Pequot 

spoke with bated breath, in earnest, deep- 
toned voices, of the possibility of a conflict. 

‘‘ Tis a monster, sure — and a man-of-war, 
I’m thinking,” said one, “ and the bright 
spots will be the shine o’ her guns at the port- 
holes.” 

“ D’ye ken whether or no she lugged round 
Cape Cod ? ” questioned another, a Scotch- 
man. 

“ Nay, Dugald, ’twas straight down the bay 
she came,” a third replied. I glimpsed her 
long afore she began to stand in. She’s just 
out of Salem or Boston, to my mind.” 

Had she touched at either of those ports 
we should have received some word from Gov- 
ernor Vane,” shrewdly observed Jennicom. 
“ That is, if the ship be what we take her for. 
But ’tis by no means certain, my friends, 
that ” 

The finish of the sentence was lost in sud- 
den cheering, and the crowd swayed and split 
to allow the passage of a cannon mounted on 
a rude truck. Jeremy Quills marched in 
front of it, and others brought up the rear 
with powder and ball. The piece had no 
sooner been loaded than a fresh diversion was 


With Puritan and Pequot 23 

caused by the beaching of a small boat that 
had crossed the harbor inlet. Jeremy’s ac- 
quaintance of the previous night stepped 
ashore, followed by several companions. 

“ Hurra for Captain Standish ! ” impulsively 
cried Rufus. 

The lad’s example found ready imitators, 
and many pressed about the gallant old soldier, 
who had shared the burdens and responsibili- 
ties of Plymouth since the landing of the May- 
flower, to ask his opinion of the present crisis. 

Wait and see,” was the Captain’s only re- 
joinder, as he pushed by to gain the mouth 
of the street. 

He’s all for flghting, depend on’t,” said 
Jeremy. But he’ll speak with the governor 
first.” 

The ripple of interest caused by the arrival 
of Captain Standish was short-lived. Again 
all eyes turned seaward. Newcomers joined 
the throng unperceived, and during the next 
quarter of an hour excitement rose to fever 
heat. Nearer and nearer forged the strange 
vessel, a wake of translucent water dancing 
behind her keel ; the crosses of St. George and 
St. Andrew fluttering from the mast-top, and 


24 With Puritan and Pequot 

the tracery of spars and rigging growing more 
sharply defined against the snowy canvas. 

“ From her cut Fd no take her for a man- 
o’-war,” said Dugald Fisher. She’s liker to 
a merchantman, and I’m doubting if she car- 
ries any soldiers.” 

'' Chock full of ’em, I tell ye,” vowed Jeremy 
Quills. “ They’re hiding below. Shall I send 
a shot across her bows. Master Jennicom ? ” 

“ Wouldst offer a wanton affront?” cried 
Jennicom. “ Stand aside,” and with that he 
planted himself before the muzzle of the can- 
non. 

A low, half-suppressed murmur ran among 
the people, to break the next moment into ex- 
clamations of surprise and relief, as the ship 
swung slowly round, broadside to the specta- 
tors. Large she was, deep-waisted and with 
lofty poop and forecastle, but plainly not a 
fighting craft in the proper sense of the word. 
Instead of armed men in the King’s uniform, 
only a few soberly-clad persons looked over 
the bulwark ; instead of tiers of ordnance, her 
portholes gave but a glimpse of a culverin here 
and there. 

She came on another hundred yards, lower- 


With Puritan and Pequot 25 

ing sail, and then her anchor was heaved over- 
board with a splash. A boat was immediately 
let down, and began to pull toward the 
shore. 

There will be no fighting to-day,” cried 
Rufus. 

The Lord be praised ! ” Carver Jennicom 
said fervently. “ We have indeed been hasty 
of judgment.” 

The suspense changed to joy and curiosity. 
Jeremy and his assistants, made the sport of 
unmerited laughter and ridicule, sullenly took 
themselves off with their piece of cannon. 
The ship’s errand was still indeterminate, since 
there was no sign of emigrants on her deck. 

“ She will be bringing a visitor,” said Du- 
gald Fisher. 

“Or a message for the Governor,” suggested 
Rufus. 

The boat drew rapidly near, coming in a lit- 
tle above the landing-wharf. Three sailors 
were rowing, and in the stern sat a weather- 
beaten, seafaring man, who stood to his feet 
directly the keel struck the beach. A merry, 
furtive twinkle in his eyes told that he had 
grasped the situation. 


26 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Look you, good friends, said he, “ my 
name is Abel Teague, and I^m Captain of 
yonder vessel, the Marygold, on which at the 
present moment a young gentlewoman is 
somewhat indisposed. I come at her father’s 
bidding to seek the attendance of a doctor or 
apothecary. Is any such among you ? ” 

“We had a doctor, sir, ” replied Dugald 
Fisher, “ but he’s lately removed to Charles- 
town.” 

“ You’ll find Master Jennicom there every 
whit as good,” spoke up Dame Tybbott’s 
nephew^, who was near by. “ Hath any a bet- 
ter knowledge of herbs and simples ? You’ll 
mind how he cured my aunt of a lingering 
fever last winter twelvemonth.” 

“ Ay, ay,” chimed in several others. 

“ If this be true,” said Captain Teague, ad- 
dressing himself to Jennicom, “ will you go 
aboard with me ? ” 

“ ’Twould be ungracious to refuse, sir, though 
I fear my humble services will be of little 
avail,” Jennicom replied, after an instant of 
hesitation. “ I’ve studied the use of some of 
nature’s simplest remedies, but can lay no 
claim to the calling of a physician. Turning 


With Puritan and Pequot 27 

to Rufus he added : ‘‘ Off in haste, lad, and 
fetch the wallet from the chest behind the 
door.” 

Rufus started on a run, and in less than a 
quarter of an hour he was back, carrying a 
leather pouch stuffed with dried roots and 
herbs of the forest. 

“ Come with us, if you like,” said Captain 
Teague, seeing the lad’s wistful countenance ; 
and Rufus was aboard before his father could 
offer any objection. 

The sailors bent to the oars, and the crowd 
that lined the beach, now swelled to a larger 
number, gazed after the receding boat as if 
they mistrusted its purpose. 

“ There’s little amiss with the young 
woman,” the captain whispered at Jennicom’s 
ear, “ but her father — you’ll understand his 
anxiety. He’s a grand gentleman at home, I 
may tell you, and he hath a mission in these 
parts on behalf of the King.” 

“ He will scarcely be welcome,” Jennicom 
replied gravely. 

“ That’s a pity,” murmured Captain Teague. 

However, it has naught to do with me.” 

No more was said. On reaching the vessel 


28 With Puritan and Pequot 

the Captain climbed first to the deck, and his 
companions had no sooner put foot beside him 
than a richly-attired gentleman of middle age 
came quickly up to the three. To Rufus, 
who had within memory seen no greater per- 
sonage than Governor Winthrop of Salem, 
this splendid gallant was a revelation. His 
eyes fell before the handsome, florid face, with 
its pointed beard and twisted mustaches ; he 
covertly observed the long, dark locks sweep- 
ing the neck, the slashed doublet and cloak, 
the murrey-colored breeches and silken hose. 
And if the lad showed some confusion. 
Carver Jennicom did no less, though after a 
different fashion. At sight of the stranger he 
gave a slight start, and his bronzed features 
turned a shade paler. For an instant he was 
as one in. two minds, then stood erect with 
squared shoulders. 

Sir Lanslott, this is Master Jennicom of 
Plymouth,” said Captain Teague, breaking an 
awkward silence. “ No doctor is he, but one 
acquaioted with the properties of medicinal 
herbs.”’ 

Sir Lanslott Charmion looked once at Jen- 
nicom, and twice at Rufus. 


With Puritan and Pequot 29 

“ I am vastly in your debt,” said he, in a 
voice that blended sweetness and hauteur, 
and shall be more so if you will try your 
skill upon my daughter’s indisposition. Pray 
follow me,” with a gesture that included the 
lad. 

Let him remain here,” Jennicom de- 
murred coldly. 

Nay, with your permission,” said Sir Lan- 
slott. Lightsome youth,” he added with a 
smile, may be more potent than drugs to the 
patient.” 

He led both to the cabin, which was fur- 
nished with arras hangings, a carpet and 
chests amazingly carved, on one of which a 
silver flagon stood flanked by goblets of col- 
ored glass and chased gold. On a couch to 
the left languidly reclined a young girl of 
seventeen or eighteen, with a face of patrician 
beauty. Ringlets of a raven hue touched her 
snowy neck. Her sleeves were looped with 
pearls, and jewels glittered on her slim white 
fingers. 

The evidences of luxury and refinement 
around him, the subtle fragrance of perfumes, 
were to Rufus as a breath from an unknown. 


30 With Puritan and Pequot 

undreamed of world. Yet, save for a height- 
ened color, he stood quite at his ease, as if to 
the manner born. 

Annis, my child, said Sir Lanslott, 
here is Master Jennicom, of whose healing 
powers the good people of Plymouth speak 
most highly.” 

A petulant shrug was the invalid’s only 
sign that she heard. Jennicom, bending over 
the couch, rested one hand lightly on her 
forehead and with the other held her pulse. 

‘‘ I can find no trace of any disorder,” he 
said curtly. 

And indeed there is none to find, sir,” 
cried the girl, sitting suddenly up, and hash- 
ing a bold glance at Rufus from her violet 
eyes. ‘‘ Father, I — I am not ill. ’Twas but 
a pretense.” 

A pretense ! ” exclaimed Sir Lanslott. 
You dare to tell me to my face that you’ve 
deceived me ! Zounds, young lady, this al- 
most exceeds belief. Be assured that I shall 

not lightly pass over ” 

“ Nay, pardon me, dear father,” she broke 
in, laughingly. I’d no desire to leave the 
vessel to-day, since at Salem the people all 


With Puritan and Pequot 31 

wore such gloomy, depressing faces, and such 
ugly cloaks and steeple-crowned hats, and 
stared at me so fiercely. But now,” and she 
glanced again at Rufus with a pretty, pouting 
blush, now, if ’tis your pleasure, I will go 
ashore and take the Plymouth air.” 

“ Whimsome baggage ! ” gasped Sir Lans- 
lott, choking between mirth and indignation. 

Faith, ^tis hard to fathom a woman^s 
moods.” 

If I am no longer required ” began 

Jennicom. 

“ I am none the less in your debt,” said Sir 
Lanslott, slipping a hand into his pocket, 

and if you will permit me ” 

Keep your gold, sir,” Jennicom inter- 
rupted quickly. “ I’ve done you no service, 
nor were it otherwise could I accept any pay- 
ment.” 

Frowning impatiently he bowed and left 
the cabin, followed by Rufus and the baronet ; 
and peals of merry laughter from Mistress 
Annis fioated after them to the deck. 

She is but a child, and should be treated 
as such,” apologized Sir Lanslott, as the vis- 
itors descended to the waiting boat. “ Your 


32 With Puritan and Pequot 

worthy Governor is doubtless aware of my ar- 
rival and of my errand/^ he added. “ I in- 
tend very shortly to pay my respects to 
him.'^ 


CHAPTER III 


IN WHICH THE GOVERNOR LENDS HIMSELF TO 
A PLOT 

The discontent of the early morning, which 
had partly worn off in the maize-field, assailed 
Rufus with fresh force after his visit to the 
Marygold. He had been afforded a glimpse, 
so to speak, of another world, a world that 
seemed as far remote from Plymouth as were 
the very stars in the heavens. His mind ran 
on ungodly and pagan things — as he had been 
taught to deem them — during the short trip 
across the harbor, and his abstracted, dreamy 
countenance was an index which Carver 
Jennicom could not fail to read correctly, and 
which caused him no little vexation of spirit. 

Many persons were still clustered by the 
water, unwilling to believe that the big ship 
dancing yonder on the ocean swell meant no 
harm to the town. They surged nearer the 
boat as it ran in to land its passengers, which 
done, it at once put out again. Rufus, jostled 
on all sides, suddenly missed his father, and 
33 


34 With Puritan and Pequot 

was vainly seeking a glimpse of him when a 
hand was clapped on his shoulder and he was 
spun round. 

Look ye, lad, art certain the vessel carries 
no soldiers?’^ demanded Jeremy Quills, in a 
whisper. 

I saw none,’’ Rufus replied. 

“ Then what’s her errand ? ” 

She brings Sir Lanslott Charmion, who 
hath business with the Governor,” was the 
thoughtless admission. 

Oh, ay, a fine gentleman from England ! 
A King’s deputy. I’ll warrant. We want 
none such here, unless he comes to restore the 
charter which a pack of meddlesome fellows 
over-sea have declared to be so much waste 
paper.” 

I think he will please himself,” Rufus 
answered coldly. 

“ He had best think of others first,” said 
J eremy , his leathery face wrinkling in an evil 
scowl ; and with that he moved away from the 
lad, who stood gazing after the receding boat. 

“ There may be trouble,” he refiected un- 
easily. If Sir Lanslott comes ashore he will 
do well to leave his daughter behind.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 35 

Meanwhile Carver Jennicom, having got 
clear of the crowd, was mounting the street 
with lengthy strides, bent on making short 
and thorough work of a plan that he had been 
turning in mind since he left the cabin of 
the Marygold. He suffered no interruption 
on the way, nor slackened speed until he drew 
near the residence of the Governor, with whom 
he was on terms of long-standing friendship 
and intimacy. 

“ Tis an affair of a private nature,” he told 
the servant who promptly admitted him to 
the house. 

“ The worshipful Governor is engaged, sir,” 
was the reply. “ Will you step up-stairs? ” 

He preceded the visitor to an apartment on 
the floor above, where, left alone for a con- 
siderable time, Jennicom paced restlessly to 
and fro, eyeing with disapproval the portraits 
on the walls, the carved Elizabethan chairs, 
and the folio tomes that lay on a table in 
company with quills, inkhorn, and a sheaf of 
writing-paper. Then the door opened, and 
the man who had borne more than his share 
of the fortunes of the Mayflower, who had 
been chosen second Governor of the settle- 


36 With Puritan and Pequot 

merit before that terrible winter of 1620 was 
over, quietly entered the room. Scholarly 
and refined, shrewd of counsel and strenuous 
in action, one without enemies— such was 
William Bradford, chief magistrate of the 
Plymouth Colony, and now in the prime of life. 

“ Good-day to you, Jennicom,^’ he said, pass- 
ing a hand wearily across his brow. “ Pray 
be seated. I can spare you a few minutes, 
though indeed Pve had a busy morning. IVe 
just dismissed Captain Standish, who returns 
to Duxbury. Ah, my worthy friend, the cares 
of ofiice begin to weigh heavily, and I fear 
they will sadly interrupt my history of the 

Plymouth Plantation. Tis a pity, but ” 

He picked up a bunch of manuscript ; put it 
down again. “ Pve heard of your visit to the 
Marygold,” he continued. Was it Sir Lans- 
lott Charmion’s daughter who was indis- 
posed ? ” 

“ There was no need of my services,’^ Jenni- 
com replied with a frown ; and in a few words 
he told of the girPs deceit, not forgetting to 
quote her opinion of the good people of 
Salem. 

Mistress Charmion will find Plymouth no 


With Puritan and Pequot 37 

more to her taste/’ commented the Governor, 
a smile hovering about the corners of his 
mouth. Tell me, do you know aught con- 
cerning Sir Lanslott? ” he added. 

His penetrating glance caused Jennicom to 
misunderstand the question. He flushed and 
grew embarrassed. 

“ I — I have seen him before,” he answered, 
years ago in England.” 

I referred to his charge in these parts,” 
said Mr. Bradford, regarding his companion 
with some surprise. A messenger arrived 
here an hour ago — an adventure with bloody- 
minded savages delayed his journey — bringing 
me a letter from young Governor Vane, the 
newly-appointed magistrate of the Bay Colony. 
His communication covers various matters, but 
dwells chiefly on the touching of the Marygold 
at Salem, where she landed a company of ncAV 
settlers. For three days Sir Lanslott and his 
daughter were the guests of Mr. Vane, and it 
appears that this English baronet hath been 
commissioned by the King to visit the do- 
minions of the Plymouth and Massachusetts 
Bay Companies, note their condition, and urge 
upon those in authority the wisdom of accept- 


38 With Puritan and Pequot 

ing the judgment of the Court of King's 
Bench." 

‘‘ Humph ! to the end that he be appointed 
Governor-General to rule over us all." 

“ I know nothing of his ambitions, Jenni- 
com. He is a man of substance, with estates 
near Jamestown in Virginia, and he intends to 
reside there for some months before returning 
to England." 

The sooner he goes the better. No good 
can come of his errand to the Bay." 

“ I fear not," assented Governor Bradford 
with a sigh. ‘‘ Mine is an arduous and diffi- 
cult post, Jennicom, and I would that I were 
ten years younger. The visit of Sir Lanslott 
Charmion is a sign of the King's weakness — 
that shadow will pass. But other clouds are 
gathering on the horizon to menace the peace 
and security of both plantations. There can 
be little doubt, from what Captain Standish 
tells me, that the unlawful sale of firearms to 
the savages is increasing. Roger Williams in 
Salem, and Anne Hutchinson in Boston, con- 
tinue boldly to utter their seditious and harm- 
ful doctrines — a well-meaning man is Will- 
iams, but most unsettled in judgment. And 


With Puritan and Pequot 39 

the Connecticut Valley, with its scattered 
settlements, is threatened with a rising of the 
Pequot Indians.’’ 

“ A Pequot rising would hardly stop at 
that,” observed Jennicom, anxiously. “ Once 
they’re out of leash, there will be bloody times 
to follow.” 

I take your meaning,” replied the Gover- 
nor. “ Other tribes might not hold aloof. 
The Narragansetts, for instance. Let us pray 
that the danger be averted — ’tis too frightful 
to contemplate.” 

Jennicom nodded. He leaned forward in 
his chair, plucking nervously at the crown of 
his hat, his eyes fixed on vacancy, as if he was 
at a loss to know how to broach the affair next 
his heart. The Governor, seating himself at 
the table, drew quill and paper to him. 

“ The day is all too short,” he said pointedly. 
“ At any moment I may be called upon to re- 
ceive Sir Lanslott Charmion. And not a 
word as yet have I written in answer to Mr. 
Vane.” 

You’re sending a reply ? — by the same 
messenger ? ” 

'' Just so.” 


40 With Puritan and Pequot 

Jennicom rose up, mustering courage. 

“ A word Avith you, sir — I’ll not detain you 
long,” he exclaimed. “ I’ve been greatly 
troubled in mind of late. ’Tis about Rufus, 
who shows signs of a discontented spirit, and 
chafes like a bird that flutters against the bars 
of its cage. You know, sir, how carefully I’ve 
watched over him, hoAv zealously I’ve sought 
to keep his feet in the paths of Puritan recti- 
tude and manliness. And now ” 

Restless moods are natural to youth,” 
broke in the Governor. Rufus is a flne lad 
— not your own son, I believe? ” 

An adopted child, sir. Left an orphan at 
the tender age of three. His father was — was 
very dear to me.” 

“ And of your own station in life ? ” 

By your leave, sir, I Avould rather not 
answer that question,” pleaded Jennicom, in 
a low tone. 

You need not,” said the Governor, hastily. 

I’ve no wish to force your confidence. But 
to proceed. Pray tell me, old friend, what 
can I do for you ? ” 

“ I want the lad away from Plymouth for a 
time,” Jennicom replied doggedly. “ This is 


41 


With Puritan and Pequot 

no place for him now — ’twill take very little 
to fill his head with worldly and unrighteous 
desires.” 

I think I understand, Jennicom. But 
how can I help you? ” 

’Tis very simple. Let Rufus, instead of 
the messenger, be the bearer of the letter to 
Governor Vane. There must be a fair pretext 
for his departure, lest he suspect my object.” 

You wish him to go to Boston ? ” 

Ay, and to stop there for a fortnight or a 
month, in the household of Nathaniel Brew- 
ster.” 

A most worthy person — our loss is Boston’s 
gain. I heartily approve your plan, Jennicom, 

and if you will send the lad to me ” 

“ I will fetch him at once, sir.” 

Nay, not so fast. Better wait until ” 

He paused to listen. Is that the wind ris- 
ing? D’you hear it? We’re going to have a 
storm.” 

“ ’Tis never the wind,” Jennicom answered 
gravely. “ If I mistake not, sir, the King’s 
envoy is already on his way hither, and the 
people are none too pleased at the sight of him.” 

I believe you’re right,” exclaimed the 


42 with Puritan and Pequot 

Governor, in an anxious tone. Come, this 
must be seen to.’^ 

From the sitting-room, which was on the 
west and landward side of the house, they 
passed into an adjoining bedchamber that 
looked over the town to the harbor. At once 
the vague murmur that had roused their ap- 
prehensions took the sound of many voices 
blended in one deep, growling note, like the 
continuous roar of breakers on a pebbly strand. 
Hastening to the window they beheld Sir 
Lanslott Charmion and Captain Teague, one 
on each side of Mistress Annis Charmion, just 
emerging from the top of the hilly street into 
the open space, while close in their rear pressed 
a sullen, threatening crowd of men and boys, 
who formed a sombre background for the gay 
attire of the baronet and his daughter. 

I’ll not interfere,” said the Governor. 

The demonstration is harmless.” 

Ay, and so is a keg of powder, till a spark 
ignites it,” observed Jennicom. 

Displaying courage and coolness in the face 
of such trying circumstances, the little group 
came on for a moment with neither quick nor 
lagging steps. Sir Lanslott’s hand resting 


With Puritan and Pequot 43 

lightly on the hilt of his sword, the girl’s face 
very white under her plumed hat, and Cap- 
tain Teague glancing furtively from one side 
to the other. Then the mob, in their turn 
reaching the square, drew suddenly nearer 
from behind, at the same time pushing farther 
ahead to right and left, as if to surround the 
three. The churlish grumbling flashed all at 
once into a virulent outburst : 

He’s on King’s business ! ” Ay, he can’t 
deny it ! ” Cut them off*! ” Drive them 
back to their ship 1 ” “ We’ll have no med- 

dling with our charter 1 ” 

These and other cries floated distinctly to 
the ears of the Governor and Jennicom. In 
a few seconds the situation had gone from bad 
to worse, and it could take but little more to 
bring an ugly rush upon thfe baronet and his 
companions. 

That racketing fellow Quills is the ring- 
leader — he’s at the bottom of every disturb- 
ance of the peace,” avowed the Governor. “ I 
must put a stop to this,” he added wrathfully, 
and leaning from the window he shouted at 
the top of his voice, but without effect. Ap- 
parently none saw or heard him. 


44 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ They’re beginning to throw,” exclaimed 
Jennicom. “ Sir, unless we go quickly 

forth Ay, they’ve hit the seafaring man ! 

Look, he draws ! Surely he cannot mean 


A sharp report rang above the clamor of the 
crowd, and a puff of smoke curled upward. 
Captain Teague, struck smartly on the shoul- 
der by a stone as large as his fist, had instantly 
turned, whipped a pistol from his belt, and 
discharged it. 

A thrilling scene of violence, of smoulder- 
ing passion fanned to an angry flame, imme- 
diately ensued ; and incident followed inci- 
dent so swiftly that Jennicom and the Gov- 
ernor, for the moment unable to tear them- 
selves from the window, had witnessed the 
greater part of the affray before they thought 
of interfering. Though the Captain of the 
Mary gold had fired harmlessly in the air, one 
might have supposed that he had drawn blood 
from the fury with which a dozen or more of 
the mob rushed upon him. The weapon was 
knocked out of his hand, brawny arms reached 
for him and dragged him away from his com- 
panions, and in a trice, in spite of his plucky 






With Puritan and Pequot 45 

resistance, he was down beneath a rain of 
blows. Sir Lanslott, flashing steel from scab- 
bard, would in his rage have attempted a res- 
cue, had not Jeremy Quills run deftly in at 
him and seized his wrist. Fiercely they strug- 
gled for possession of the blade, and the King’s 
deputy was losing his grip of it when assist- 
ance reached him from an unexpected quarter. 
For suddenly Rufus Jennicom sprang to his 
side and with two heavy strokes of his fist, put 
Master Quills flat on his back. Wresting the 
sword from the fallen man, the lad returned it 
to the baronet. 

Defend yourself, sir, but avoid bloodshed,” 
he cried ; and with that he hastened to Mistress 
Charmion, who was wringing her hands with 
fright and dismay. Now is your chance,” 
he told her. Run to yonder house on the 
corner — ’tis the Governor’s.” 

“ And leave my father in peril ? ” the girl 
exclaimed indignantly. “ Canst think it, 
sir ? Nay, I’ll not stir without him. But oh, 
sir, save him from harm.” 

Her eyes tearfully appealed to Rufus, and a 
tiny hand, gloved and perfumed, uncon- 
sciously pressed his arm. For an instant he 


46 With Puritan and Pequot 

wavered, uncertain what to do, the while see- 
ing Sir Lanslott at bay with sword hissing in 
a half-circle, and catching a glimpse of the 
prostrate sea-captain struggling to rise. 
Jeremy was up again and approaching the lad 
with threats of vengeance. But just then, 
most opportunely, half-a-dozen soldiers came 
on the scene from the direction of the fort, 
closely followed by Jennicom and Governor 
Bradford, who had hurriedly rushed out of 
the house. 

The crowd, realizing that they had carried 
their ill-feelings too far and fearing the con- 
sequences, began to disperse without delay, 
some in guilty haste, some slowly and sul- 
lenly. Jeremy Quills, among the last to 
withdraw, turned several times to shake his 
fist at Rufus. 

Governor Bradford, making himself known 
to Sir Lanslott Charmion, put the best face 
possible on a sorry occasion. 

“ Words,’’ said he, “ can hardly soften the 
indignities you have suffered. Rather than 
this had happened I would have lost my 
right hand. The offenders, be assured, shall 
be brought to justice and properly punished.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 47 

Nay, let it pass,’’ replied the baronet, re- 
ceiving the apology in a kindly spirit. '' But 
indeed, sir,” he added ruefully, “ your people 
showed themselves most unfriendly, all save 
one. I refer to the lad standing yonder, 
whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting be- 
fore. Annis, didst see how prettily he laid 
that fellow on his back ? ” 

’Twas bravely done,” said the girl, flash- 
ing a smile of gratitude at Rufus. We are 
both greatly in his debt, father, and you 
should tell him so.” 

But it was already too late, for the lad, 
obeying a sharp word of command, had 
walked rapidly away by Jennicom’s side. 
Sir Lanslott gazed after them curiously. 

An odd pair,” he remarked. I should 
never have taken them for father and son. 
The elder Jennicom hath a visage to turn 
wine to vinegar.” 

A most worthy man,” said Mr. Brad- 
ford, warmly. “ One of our leading citi- 
zens.” 

Sir Lanslott shrugged his shoulders whimsi- 
cally, rattled his blade into its scabbard, and 
with his companions set off to the Governor’s 


48 With Puritan and Pequot 

house, the musketeers forming an escort to 
right and left of the little party. 

The sunset had faded to a topaz glow be- 
hind the dark barrier of the forest, and the 
cool, restful hour of twilight was shrouding 
and softening the harsh outlines of New 
Plymouth, when William Bradford, in hat 
and cloak, turned in at the open gate of 
Jennicom’s palisade and found the old 
Puritan and his son sitting in the doorway 
of their house. 

“ Nay, I’ll not cross the threshold,” he re- 
plied to Jennicom’s invitation. My errand 
is a brief one. A word with you. Master 
Rufus — your conduct this afternoon was most 
laudable, proving that you’ve a cool head for 
an emergency, and it pleased me so highly 
that I’ve concluded to entrust you with an 
affair of state, so to speak. I wish to send a 
letter to Governor Vane, of Boston, in answer 
to one received from him this day. Will you 
undertake to bear it safely ? ” 

“ Is it your meaning, sir, that Plymouth 
is no place for me at present?” asked the 
lad. If so, I would tell you that I am 
not afraid to account to my neighbors for 


With Puritan and Pequot 49 

the courtesy shown to strangers in dis- 
tress.” 

Rufus, you forget yourself,” Jennicom 
cried harshly. 

Nay, I admire his spirit,” said the Gover- 
nor. But believe me, my boy, I had no 
such thought in mind. And yet ^twould be 

just as well, perhaps ” 

'' He will do your bidding,” interrupted 
Jennicom. Speak, lad.” 

IVe no choice,” Rufus answered quietly. 

Since Governor Bradford honors me with 
his confidence, I shall be proud to carry the 
letter to Boston.” 

“ Very good,” replied the Governor, in a 
tone of relief. “ ’Tis settled then. Come to 
my house at seven o^clock to-morrow morn- 
ing, in readiness to start. Mr. Vane^s mes- 
senger will go back with you — he is a 
timid fellow, IVe reason to fear, and less to 
be relied upon than yourself. If youVe any 
word to send, Jennicom ” 

A few lines to Nathaniel Brewster, which 
I'll write at once. He and his family will 
heartily welcome you to Boston, Rufus. 'Tis 
six months since you've seen them.” 


50 With Puritan and Pequot 

Jennicom walked as far as the gate with 
the Governor, who lingered there for a mo- 
ment. 

“ Twas easily arranged,” said he, in a low 
voice, “ and I trust your end will be gained. 
Ay, Sir Lanslott and his daughter have gone 
aboard their vessel for the night, though from 
to-morrow they will be my guests for a time. 
Tis my duty, you understand, to pay every 
respect to the King’s envoy.” He stepped out 
of the gate, then paused. “ By-the-by,” he 
added, “ I’d forgotten a matter of interest to 
you, which I had from Captain Standish this 
morning. You remember that arrant knave 
Pybus Foulfoot, my bond-servant, who com- 
mitted various misdemeanors two years ago, 
fled from the settlement, and ” 

What of him ? ” Jennicom broke in, 
hoarsely. He is dead — we know that.” 

Nay, ’twas a false report reached us. It 
seems that the rogue drifted to the Penobscot 
trading-post last year under a different name, 
took part in the fighting there, and for some 
reason was not set free with the other prison- 
ers. ’Tis said that the Chevalier D’Aunay 
still holds him captive at Port Royal, up on 


With Puritan and Pequot 51 

the Bay of Fundy. Dead or alive, we’re well 
rid of the fellow, for he’ll never show his face 
at Plymouth again. Good-night, Jennicom 
— I’m keeping you out of bed.” 

‘‘ Good-night, sir.” 

The words were choked and husky, almost 
inaudible, forced with difficulty from Jenni- 
com’s parched throat. He stood with clenched 
hands, his body stiffened against the gate- 
post, looking after the Governor’s receding 
figure, while a ghastly gray hue, closely akin 
to fear, might have been seen on his rigid 
face but for the friendly cloak of the twilight. 


CHAPTER IV 


IN WHICH there’s A SECRET MEETING AND AN 
UNINVITED GUEST 

From the first a touch of mystery hung 
about Carver Jennicom and roused a slight 
and transient curiosity. He was a Puritan 
to the backbone, and he had lived for two 
years among Puritans in Amsterdam, which 
Dutch port afforded a refuge to many English 
dissenters ere they emigrated to America ; but 
such of these as crossed the Atlantic with him 
knew nothing of the man prior to his arrival 
in Holland. 

I’m from the south of England,” the mas- 
terful new recruit told William Bradford, 
and I formerly belonged to a small gather- 
ing of nonconformists — they’ve long since 
dispersed — who met secretly for worship in 
defiance of the law. So I’ve a common cause 
with your people, sir, and no higher wish but 
to share their lot, be what it may.” 

The Governor tactfully thrust no questions 
home, and thus Carver Jennicom, with his 
52 


With Puritan and Pequot 53 

little family, took up the burden of life at 
New Plymouth in the wintry season of 1623. 
The outer crust of the man masked finer feel- 
ings that few suspected. Two cherished aims 
guided his life. He strove zealously to help 
forward the good work which he saw already 
as the seed from which would spring a new 
nation, and he ardently prayed that his 
adopted child might from free choice follow 
in the same rugged, unswerving groove, and 
in after years help to shape the expanding 
destinies of the Puritan people. 

Jennicom^s experiment — Twas that he called 
it in his heart — bade fair to succeed. Rufus, 
grafted on an alien branch, thriving in the 
bleak climate of New England, grew up like 
a young and vigorous tree. At a tender age 
he was taught to run and swim, to handle 
firelock, sword, and quarter-staff, to sail a boat 
on the rough waters of the bay, and to tread 
the wilderness trails unerringly. His friends 
in those days and afterward were Rose and 
Humfrey Brewster, from whose father, the 
gentle Cambridge scholar, he imbibed in 
winter evenings as much learning as Jenni- 
com thought to be good for him. 


54 With Puritan and Pequot 

It was a rude and trying period, yet far 
from colorless or unromantic ; a primitive, un- 
couth existence, when men earned their daily 
bread by the sweat of their brow, wore un- 
comely clothing and ate simplest food, dwelt 
in fortress-like houses of logs with oiled paper 
instead of window glass, blended religion with 
secular pursuits, and rarely stirred abroad 
without their weapons. An arduous bring- 
ing-up indeed for a lad, but young Rufus bore 
his part uncomplainingly, with a brave, con- 
tented spirit, because he knew no other world, 
no other conditions, nor even dreamed as yet 
of the wider life as different from his present 
one as day is from night. 

On a pleasant July evening, as the sunset’s 
afterglow was flushing sky and water with 
many soft hues of color, two lads and a girl, 
who had strolled northwards along the edge 
of Boston’s harbor, were resting in a quiet, se- 
cluded nook of rocks and scrubby bushes, near 
to the gaunt-ribbed skeleton of a vessel, half- 
buried in sand, that had come to grief in a 
storm two years before. Hardy young progeny 
of the New World, comrades and playmates 
since childhood, were the three. Humfrey 


With Puritan and Pequot 55 

Brewster, a slight, wiry lad in his nineteenth 
year, with his father’s dark and pensive cast 
of features, was idly tossing pebbles into the 
water, while Rufus Jennicom, propped on an 
elbow, gazing earnestly, with a far-away look 
in his eyes, at a cluster of shipping moored 
off the town front — was dreaming of the 
strange and distant lands, of the teeming life 
of the older world, that the sight of these 
ocean wanderers suggested to him. A few 
feet apart from her companions sat Rose 
Brewster, and very happily named was this 
sweet little Puritan maiden of seventeen, with 
the bloom of the wild rose on her fair oval 
face, with her lavish tresses of hair, that the 
breeze had loosened, shading from spun gold 
to sunny nut-brown. Demurely clad in gray 
with a close white ruff about her slender 
throat, like the plumage of a dove, she made 
a dainty picture as she watched, with half- 
parted lips, the purple twilight stealing shore- 
ward in the wake of the vanished sun. 

“ How beautiful it is ! ” she exclaimed. 
“ Look ! those far islands seem to be melting 
into the rim of the ocean. Yet I think I 
cared more for Plymouth harbor, and the bay 


56 With Puritan and Pequot 

beyond it, than I do for the sea at Boston. I 
wish I were you, Rufus, though of course I 
am sorry you are going home to-morrow. 
Perhaps Mistress Charmion will have returned, 
and you will see her again. Tell me, was she 
very, very lovely ? I saw her but once when 
she came to Boston, and that at a dis- 
tance.’’ 

“ Well, she was like a picture — that’s all I 
know,” Rufus answered vaguely, as he turned 
from the contemplation of the ships and sat 
up. “ Looked as if a puff of wind would blow 
her away. A pretty butterfly, and as bright- 
colored as one. And yet she had a man’s 
courage.” 

‘‘ And what finery did she wear, Rufus? ” 

“Oh, how can I remember?” laughed the 
lad. “ There were gloves — long ones reaching 
to her elbows, and a wide hat with a plume 
that curled finely, and — and ” 

“ And what? ” urged Rose. “ Pray tell me 
more.” 

“ Rufus don’t want to talk about girls,” 
Humfrey interjected, in a scornful tone. 

“ But I’m sure he is glad to return to Ply- 
mouth,” Rose said slyly. 


With Puritan and Pequot 57 

“ I’m not,” vowed Rufus. “ Anything but 
glad.” 

He shook his head decidedly, and meant it. 
It was true that Carver Jennicom had sent for 
him, but he was in no haste to leave Boston, 
where, though the day’s toil was much the 
same, there were compensations — renewal of 
old friendships, dipping into well-nigh forgot- 
ten books with Nathaniel Brewster, the dis- 
covery that life held wider interests, beat with 
a quicker pulse, in the capital of the Bay 
Colony. 

No, I would rather stop here,” he added, 
after a pause. But I don’t mind so much, 
since Humfrey is going back with me for a 
fortnight.” 

For which Master Jennicom is to be 
thanked,” spoke up Humfrey. “ ’Twas the 
pressing invitation in his letter that won my 
father’s consent.” 

“ Ah, me,” said Rose, with a sigh and a 
pout. I shall be all alone. There will be 
no more pleasant walks together in the even- 
ings.” She sprang suddenly to her feet. 
“ Come, ’tis nearly dark,” she cried. 

Challenging her companions to a race, she 


58 With Puritan and Pequot 

darted by them and ran with the grace and 
speed of a fawn. Humfrey and Rufus gave 
pursuit, but lost sight of the slim, gray-clad 
figure by the time they reached the market- 
place. Here they stopped to see the finish of 
an altercation between two sailors, and were 
moving on again when a man came up to 
them and addressed them in an undertone. 
Rufus recognized Jarvis Story, a former in- 
habitant of Plymouth. 

“ There’s to be some preaching,” said he 
mysteriously. Yonder at my house. D’you 
wish to attend for a half-hour ? I know you 
for discreet lads, else I had let you pass by.” 

We’re for home,” replied Humfrey. 

As you like,” replied Master Story. But 
the preacher is one who will please you both. 
I warrant you’ll be glad to see and hear him.” 

‘‘ Not Roger Williams? ” exclaimed Rufus. 

“ Ay, that same. ’Tis not to be mentioned 
openly, you understand ; ” and Master Story 
put a finger to his lips. “ He’s in Boston for 
the night, on his way south,” he added. 

’Twill be a quiet meeting, and the magis- 
trates none the wiser. But I’ll say no more if 
you’re reluctant to ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 59 

I should like to hear him,” interrupted 
Rufus. “ What think you, Humfrey ? ” 

Humfrey, with slight hesitation, owned to 
a similar wish. Both lads had known Roger 
Williams during his several sojourns in Plym- 
outh, and were numbered among the many 
secret admirers of that lovable but erratic 
preacher of Salem. So in the end they 
yielded, though they could not quite stifle the 
uneasy voice of conscience, nor banish the 
prospect of Nathaniel Brewster's displeasure, 
as they followed Jarvis Story across the 
market-place, keeping a discreet distance be- 
hind him. 

It was now quite dark, and for the most 
part the good people of Boston were within 
doors. Attracting little or no attention as 
they went through the streets, the three pres- 
ently came to a palisaded house just beyond 
the western verge of the town, and being ad- 
mitted by a man who was guarding the 
gate, they passed into a small, dimly-lit 
room where were assembled nearly a score 
of solemn visaged men and women, attired 
in dingy homespun and white ruffs and 
coifs. 


6o With Puritan and Pequot 

Rufus and Humfrey slipped quietly to the 
rear of the little audience, and scarcely a 
minute later Roger Williams appeared from 
an adjoining room. But little more than a 
youth, slimly made and with a sweet and 
earnest countenance, was this young Welsh- 
man, who had first abandoned a career at the 
bar under the great Lord Coke, and then the 
offer of church preferment, in order to enjoy 
liberty of conscience and belief in New Eng- 
land. Since his arrival in 1631, he had bred 
discord and dissension by his heresies and law- 
defying doctrines, and yet had been tolerated, 
had time and again disarmed even his ene- 
mies, by reason of his gentle, even-tempered 
nature. 

He began to speak at once, and the low elo- 
quent tones, the winning face and magnetic 
voice, held the assemblage spellbound. Necks 
were craned forward, hands were lifted to ears, 
and rugged features showed the play of inward 
emotion and enthusiasm. 

And even here,” he went on, toward the 
close of his brief discourse, “ here in this great, 
primitive wilderness, where ye are sowing by 
stress and toil that others may reap, where 


With Puritan and Pequot 6i 

absolute freedom is in the very air ye breathe, 
the old fetters, the old clogs, gird ye about 
still. Deny it who can. At heart ye are no 
longer of the Church of England, and yet ye 
dare not break with it openly, like your breth- 
ren of Plymouth. Your charter is threatened, 
and behold ye fly to arms and vow to shed 
blood in defense of your rights. What rights, 
forsooth ? Your charter was never worth the 
parchment ’twas written on. How can the 
King give, and ye profess to hold, that which 
belongs to neither? For the Indians, and 
they alone, are the owners of this whole land. 
And again,” he paused to add force to the 
words, “ what are ye but slaves to your magis- 
trates ? Rightful power they have over a 
man’s body and goods, in respect of such laws 
as are just. But whence comes their authority 
when they dictate what ye are to believe and 
in what forms ye shall worship God. My 
deluded friends, it does not exist. I tell you 
earnestly ” 

“ Roger Williams, I charge you in the 
King’s name to hold your peace,” interrupted 
a stern, ringing voice ; and all eyes turned to 
the open doorway, where stood youthful Harry 


62 With Puritan and Pequot 

Vane, Governor of the Bay Company, with 
grave displeasure on his flushed and hand- 
some face. 


CHAPTER V 


IN WHICH RUFUS BRAVES THE GOVERNOR'S 
WRATH 

A DEEP, tense silence, that lasted for a few 
seconds, fell on the room. The Governor's 
eyes swept the congregation, but failed to de- 
tect Rufus and Humfrey, who stood trembling 
in a dusky corner with a group of broad- 
shouldered Puritans in front of them. 

“ He is not alone," whined Jarvis Story. 
“ Alack, we are betrayed." 

“ Nay, but the worshipful Governor means 
us no ill," cried Mistress Anne Hutchinson, 
who was among those present. “ Surely he 
will not interfere with a lawful and harmless 
meeting." 

“ Zounds ! but this is too much," exclaimed 
the young chief magistrate. “ And from you, 
madam, to whom I've so often shown favor 
and forbearance in excess of prudence. A 
lawful and harmless meeting indeed ! If I 
rightly named it " 


63 


64 With Puritan and Pequot 

His voice was lost in a sudden murmur of 
consternation, a restless shuffling of feet, 
which as quickly ceased when Roger Williams 
stretched forth his arms appealingly. 

“Sir, by your leave,” said he, “ I protest 
that I’ve done no wrong. I respectfully claim 
the right of free speech.” 

“ Free speech ! ” cried the Governor. “ Rank 
sedition and heresy, you mean. Rebellious 
and treasonable utterance. And this in spite 
of repeated and kindly warnings. I’ll have 
no more of it. Master Williams. It must be 
stopped once and for all, else am I false to my 
oath of office and my duty to King and people.” 

“ We are supposed to be in a free land, sir. 
I deny that I’ve uttered one treasonable or 
seditious word.” 

“ Why, I heard you. But enough ” 

“Will you consent to argue the question in 
a calm and dispassionate spirit, sir?” 

“ I’ll argue nothing. You will at once dis- 
perse this assemblage and give me the pleasure 
of your company.” 

“ If you will but hear me ” 

“ Not another word,” thundered the Gover- 
nor, losing his temper at last; and just then 


With Puritan and Pequot 65 

the tall figure of his deputy, John Winthrop, 
the elder, appeared in the doorway. 

More firmness is needed, sir,” he cried. 
“ With your permission Vl\ arrest this con- 
tumacious fellow.” 

The deputy’s harsh threat, and the gleam 
of a soldier’s headpiece behind him, swiftly 
put an end to vacillation. Against his wishes 
Roger Williams was bundled into the adjoin- 
ing room by two of his friends, and at the 
same instant Master Story knocked down and 
extinguished the light that stood over the 
fireplace. Clamor and confusion followed as 
the frightened people, plunged in utter dark- 
ness, with one accord endeavored to escape. 
Through the midst of them pushed the 
Governor and his deputy, meaning to ap- 
prehend the missing preacher, but a hastily- 
barred door frustrated their intentions, and 
turned them back again. Meanwhile the 
soldier — there was only the one — had been 
borne off his feet by the rush, and lying 
prostrate across the outer threshold of the 
room, unable to rise in spite of his frantic 
struggles, he continued to bawl for help at 
the top of his voice as the dispersing audience 


66 With Puritan and Pequot 

trampled him underfoot, though he could 
scarcely be heard amid the shrieking of 
women and the hoarse shouting of men. 

The two lads played no part in this un- 
seemly scuffle, for directly the light was ex- 
tinguished Rufus, with ready presence of 
mind, had whispered an encouraging word in 
Humfrey’s ear and then guided him along the 
wall to a near-by window. Some little time 
was required to find and draw the bolt, which 
done, they flung the shutter wide and leaped 
over the sill to the ground. 

They were among the first to dart through 
the gateway in the palisade, and without 
stopping to see the end of the trouble, or 
waiting to pick up any of their late com- 
panions, they made off at full speed across 
the town. Breathless and exhausted, they 
paused at length by the edge of the market- 
place, vastly relieved to have come out of an 
awkward scrape so easily. In the distance a 
faint hue and cry was spreading, but as yet 
the alarm had gone no farther. The im- 
mediate neighborhood was dark, lonely, and 
silent. 

’Tis lucky the Governor never saw us,^^ 


With Puritan and Pequot 67 

said Humfrey, as they set off again, for 
he’ll be seeking to punish those who were at 
the meeting.” 

“ Shall you tell your father we were there ? ” 
asked Rufus. 

Why not?” 

“ I didn’t mean that. We’ll have to tell 
him, of course. But I’m afraid he will be 
angry.” 

“ It can’t be helped,” replied Humfrey. 
“ Let’s hurry home and get it over. Why 
don’t you walk faster? Haven’t you re- 
covered your wind yet?” 

I should like to go back,” said Rufus, 
to find out if Roger Williams got away or 
not. It would be a burning shame if they 
caught him and put him in jail.” 

Or if they expelled him from the colony. 
There is serious talk of it.” 

They wouldn’t dare do that,” Rufus 
asserted vehemently. Everybody likes 
Roger Williams — even the magistrates. And 
what wrong has he done? Humfrey, what 
he said to-night was true, every w^ord of it. 
That’s the kind of leader the people of these 
colonies need — a leader to show them the 


68 With Puritan and Pequot 

difference between freedom and oppression, to 
drag them out of themselves, to force them to 
act and speak as if they had souls of their 
own. Religion was never intended to make 
life gloomy and slavish, but here in Boston, 
and in Plymouth and Salem and everywhere 
else ’’ 

‘‘ Rufus ! ” his friend exclaimed in sur- 
prise. “ Why, whaPs come over you ? ” 

Oh, I mean it. Roger Williams has 
opened my eyes. What is our precious 
charter worth, after all, if the magistrates can 
send men to the pillory and the whipping- 
post because they refuse to go to church ? Is 
that the way to make them good Christians ? 
No ! If I were a man, Humfrey, and had 
power ” 

“ Hush ! some one may hear you.’^ 

“ I don’t care. I would say the same to 
the Governor’s face, though until to-night 
I’ve been among his most loyal admirers.” 

At the moment, it so happened, the lads 
were passing by the residence of Governor 
Vane. And Rufus, looking up, saw against 
the dusky gloom the standard of England 
hanging over the massive timbered gateway. 


With Puritan and Pequot 69 

A sudden impulse, conceived in a spirit of 
rash enthusiasm, seized and conquered him. 
In a trice he had climbed nimbly to the top 
of the beams, where, balanced straddlewise, 
he drew a knife from his pocket, held the 
banner taut while he made a couple of quick 
slashes, and tore bodily from it the red cross 
of St. George. Springing to the ground he 
flaunted the trophy in his companion’s face. 

What have you done ? ” cried Humfrey, 
in a horrifled tone. “ You’re surely mad, 
Rufus. This may cost you your ears, if no 
worse.” 

Rufus, instantly sobered and brought to his 
senses, realized the desperate folly he had 
committed and the consequences that might 
ensue. 

I — I must have been mad,” he said miser- 
ably. ’Twas done before I had time to 
think. We had better get away from here as 
quickly as possible.” 

“ You’ll not take that with you ? ” 

“ No ; I’ll drop it over the wall. Wait a 
second ” 

Run ! run ! ” exclaimed Humfrey. “ We’re 
discovered.” 


70 With Puritan and Pequot 

Even as he spoke the gate flew open, 
and out leaped a man wearing the long cloak 
that was the badge of the Governor's serv- 
ice. 

Rogues, varlets, I've caught ye in the 
act ! " he shouted ; and with that he overtook 
Rufus and clapped both arms around him 
from behind. 

Humfrey could easily have escaped, but in- 
stead he turned back to the assistance of his 
companion, and attacking the man from the 
rear he pulled him heavily to the ground by 
the shoulders. Rufus came down as well, and 
the next instant he had jerked himself free 
and was on his feet, leaving the square of 
crimson cloth in the grasp of his captor. The 
rescue was effected in less than half a minute 
from the throwing open of the gate, and as 
both lads took to their heels, plunging across 
the gloomy square, the Governor's baffled 
serving-man made the night ring with lusty 
clamor, which was not long in waking a re- 
sponse. 

“ They'll give hot pursuit," panted Hum- 
frey, “ and you know what it means if we're 
caught. This way — not toward home." 


With Puritan and Pequot 71 


But ’twas too dark for the fellow to have 
recognized us,” said Rufus. 

“We can^t be sure of it, so ^tis best to take 
no chances. Faster — I’ll keep up with you. 
Now bear to the left.” 

Most of the people of Boston were abed, and 
others had been drawn westward by the 
tumult in the direction of Jarvis Story’s 
house, else the young fugitives might not have 
got far from the Governor’s gateway. But 
the odds were all in their favor, and without 
interference, without meeting a single person, 
they ran on through the deserted, grass-grown 
streets, while the hue and cry spread and 
gained vigor behind them. Holding to the 
northeast they presently reached the edge of 
the town, and several minutes later they crept 
into a thicket of scrubby bushes not many 
yards from the spot where they had been sit- 
ting with Rose Brewster earlier in the even- 
ing. Exhausted, gasping hard for breath, 
they threw themselves on the sand. 

“ Well, I’ve landed you in a pretty mess,” 
Rufus said glumly, when he was able to speak. 
“ ’Twas all my fault, and I’m more than sorry, 
Humfrey. You should have disappeared 


72 With Puritan and Pequot 

when you heard that sneaking fellow fum- 
bling at the gate.” 

“ And left you to be hauled off to jail ? 
Why, I’d have turned back in the face of the 
Governor’s whole household, right or wrong. 
But ’twas a most reckless deed, Rufus.” 

“ Sheer madness, my good Humfrey. In 
truth, I hardly know what spurred me to it. 
I chanced to look up, and there was the 
standard mocking me, flaunting the injustice 
of the magistrates before my very eyes. 
D’you understand how I felt ? ” 

“ I begin to see why Roger Williams’s teach- 
ings are said to be dangerous and inflam- 
mable,” Humfrey replied, laying a hand on 
his friend’s shoulder. “ But enough of re- 
proaches. ’Tis useless to talk of what’s done 
and over, and can’t be mended. The question 
that concerns us at the moment is whether 
’twill be safe or not to go home. They may 
be watching the house.” 

“ Nay, I’ll not believe it,” vowed Rufus. 

The Governor’s knave, I would swear, iden- 
tified neither of us.” 

“ Nor could I do as much for him,” ad- 
mitted Humfrey. “ His features were only a 


With Puritan and Pequot 73 

blur in the darkness. I wish ’twas this time 
to-morrow, and we were well on the way to 
Plymouth.^^ 

We must think of to-night first,” said 
Rufus. “ How long are we to lie here in hid- 
ing ? ” 

“ Until we’re satisfied that we can safely 
venture forth,” was the reply. And that 
will not be yet awhile.” 

Humfrey was right. From all quarters of 
the town could be heard a confused noise of 
shouting and calling, which at intervals drew 
an echo from some vessel lying in the harbor. 
But the pursuit happily trailed no nearer, 
though it was a considerable time — quite an 
hour — before the tumult ebbed to a peaceful 
silence. A few minutes longer the lads 
waited, then left their shelter and set off to 
enter the town by a roundabout route. 

’Tis past eleven, at the least,” said Hum- 
frey. “ I wonder if we’ll find the door 
barred.” 

No fear,” Rufus answered grimly. Your 
father will be sitting up for us.” 

They followed the curving line of the shore, 
moving warily and vigilantly, with anxious 


74 With Puritan and Pequot 

hearts and uneasy consciences. None chal- 
lenged them, no dreaded watchman loomed 
out of the murky darkness, and at length they 
slipped into the town by a rutted cart-track 
that brought them to the palisade of Hum- 
frey’s home. 

The gate was unfastened, and they saw a 
yellow ray of light streaming from the chinks 
of a shuttered window. Mustering courage, 
they strode across the garden and let them- 
selves into the house, where Nathaniel 
Brewster, who was seated by a table, rose 
to confront them with a sober, searching 
glance. 

“ What kept you so late? he demanded. 

“We went to the meeting at Master 
Story’s,^’ Humfrey boldly answered. 

“ I suspected as much,” his father replied, 
in a hard voice. “ Rash, imprudent youths ! 
’Twas a dangerous and foolish thing to do, as 
you should have known, and it merits a 
severe punishment. Ever since, I suppose, 
you Ve been hiding in fear of the consequences. 
But surely the Governor did not see you 
there ? ” 

“ I think not, sir,” Rufus spoke up. “ We 


With Puritan and Pequot 75 

were in a corner of the room behind some of 
the others.” 

I am grieved and shocked,” said Na- 
thaniel Brewster, with a sigh. It is well 
that you will be absent from Boston for a 
time, until this night’s work is partly forgot- 
ten. Roger Williams is a fugitive, wandering 
in the forest to avoid arrest, for the magis- 
trates will tolerate his perverse conduct no 
longer. Nor do I blame them. Scarcely was 
the unlawful meeting dispersed when some 
wicked persons, inflamed by the seditious 
speech to which they had listened, cut the 
cross of St. George from the standard that 
hangs over the Governor’s gateway. The re- 
port of this most dastardly outrage I had from 
his own lips, not a quarter of an hour ago.” 

Was Governor Vane here ? ” Humfrey and 
Rufus cried in one breath. 

Ay, he honored me with a visit,” replied 
Nathaniel Brewster, failing to observe the ill- 
concealed agitation of the lads. ‘‘ He brought 
a letter, with the request that it be forwarded 
to Governor Bradford at once, since he was 
aware that you were leaving for Plymouth to- 
morrow. I deliver it into your zealous 


76 With Puritan and Pequot 

charge, Master Jennicom ; ” and he handed 
Rufus a small sealed packet, on which the 
ink seemed barely dry, addressed to William 
Bradford. “You little deserve such a mark 
of confidence,’^ he added sternly. “ Be off to 
bed now, for ’twill be wise to start at an early 
hour. I will speak with you further in the 
morning.” 

“ We’re well out of that scrape,” said Hum- 
frey, as they reached their own room. “ I 
hope we’ve heard the last of it.” 

He put the light on a shelf, and was stand- 
ing by the open gable-window, enjoying the 
touch of the cool air on his flushed cheeks, 
when a sharp exclamation caused him to turn 
quickly round. 

“ What’s wrong? ” he cried. 

“ My knife ! ” Rufus answ^ered hoarsely, as 
he searched his pockets for the second time. 
“ I must have dropped it when I was on the 
Governor’s gate, Humfrey — yes, ’tis gone, 
that’s certain. And — and my initials are cut 
on the haft.” 

In mute consternation, their cheerfulness 
steeped in a trouble that was too bitter for 
words, the lads stared at each other. 


CHAPTER VI 


IN WHICH WINGED DEATH PLAYS A TRAGEDY 

The day was breaking when the young 
travelers, wilderness-bound, parted from 
Humfrey’s father and sister, who had accom- 
panied them as far as the edge of the town. 
A little later, where the undulating patch of 
golden grain touched the borders of the pine- 
wood, they pulled up for a last retrospect of 
the scene they were leaving. Nathaniel 
Brewster, sunk as usual in reverie, neither 
paused nor turned, but Rose fluttered at in- 
tervals a white kerchief, which dainty signal 
the lads recognized by waving their hats ; 
they watched until the two v/ere quite con- 
cealed by a line of palisading, and then, Rufus 
astride of the old, raw-boned black horse, and 
Humfrey walking by his side with shouldered 
firelock, they plunged into the dark, dense 
shade of the trees, with their backs toward 
Boston and their faces set for the distant goal 
that beckoned across leagues of barbarous 
wilderness. 


77 


78 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Free as birds ! exclaimed Humfrey, 
drawing a deep, full breath. I was afraid 
we wouldn’t get away, Rufus. My heart is 
down where it belongs again. It’s been stick- 
ing in my throat half the night, and ever 
since breakfast, for fear of a visit from old 
Blades the constable. But what do you sup- 
pose became of that knife? Surely, if you 
had dropped it at the gate ” 

I think it fell into the Governor’s garden 
and may be lying under the shrubbery,” said 
Rufus, “ or else it slipped out of my pocket 
when we were hiding by the shore.” 

It’s safe enough if you lost it there.” 

Yes, if I did. But we don’t know that. 
If the knife is in the garden it will be picked 
up some time.” 

Well, it hasn’t been found yet, that much 
is pretty certain,” replied Humfrey. As 
father says, ' don’t look for trouble till trouble 
looks for you,’ so I’m not going to worry any 
longer. And you needn’t either.” 

Their course was a mere thread of a trail, 
shadowy and vague, blazed in some places by 
an axe and elsewhere to be read only by keen 
eyesight and intuition. And nearly midway 


With Puritan and Pequot 79 

on this little-traveled path, eighteen miles 
from Boston and about twenty-two from Ply- 
mouth, lived the man who had created it. 

Here, deep in the wilderness, Caleb Stagg 
had built himself a home several years before. 
He was a widower with a pair of grown sons, 
and stood in the relationship of uncle to Mis- 
tress Comfort Brewster, who was in the habit 
of sending him from time to time, by any 
means that offered, such staple articles as he 
might be in need of. Wherefore we find 
Rufus and Humfrey follotving the longer 
route to Plymouth, by which they would 
break their journey for a night and deliver to 
Caleb Stagg the powder and ball, the axe- 
heads and venison pasties, that Black Betty, 
Nathaniel Brewster^s old mare, carried in her 
bulging saddle-bags. 

The trail was rugged and progress slow. 
Weird silence and gloom pervaded the fast- 
ness of the infinite greenwood, and a glimpse 
of a startled bear galloping across a sunlit 
glade, when the lads stopped for a bite of 
lunch by a wayside stream, was the only inci- 
dent of an uneventful day. Each riding in 
turn they came toward evening to the lonely 


8o With Puritan and Pequot 

cabin with its strong palisade and loopholed 
walls, and received a hearty welcome from 
the settler and his two sons, Jonas and Reuben, 
who eagerly besought news of the outer world, 
and were most reluctant to let their visitors 
depart on the following morning. The 
weather had changed during the night. The 
sky was overcast with low, leaden clouds, and 
a wind from the east stirred the tree-tops. 

“ There's a storm brewing,” said Caleb 
Stagg, as he left the lads at the edge of the 
cultivated ground, and 'tis uncertain how 
long it will hold off. 'Twere better to have 
tarried, but Til not urge you, since you’re set 
on reaching Plymouth to-day. You’ll be wise 
to travel quickly. The trail is easily fol- 
lowed, if you keep watch for the blazed trees. 
Farewell, and God speed you.” 

He turned back to the house, striding be- 
tween the yellow grain that nodded for the 
sickle, while behind him the hoof-beats grew 
fainter and fainter on the turf 

“ We’ve got plenty of time,” said Rufus, 
'' and I half believe ’twill clear by and by.” 

Looks a bit like it,” assented Humfrey. 

Do you know. I’ve been thinking that 


With Puritan and Pequot 8i 

Black Betty won’t be much use if the path 
gets any worse than it was yesterday. We 
could go faster without her.” 

But you’ll want the mare to carry you 
back to Boston.” 

“ Ay, that’s true, Rufus, else I should have 
left her with Uncle Caleb. However, rough 
road or smooth, I doubt not but we’ll sit down 
to supper with Master Jennicom this night. 
You’ve the Governor’s letter safe ? ” 

“ ’Tis betwixt shirt and doublet,” Rufus re- 
plied, “ and the waxen seal presses like a 
button.” 

They pushed steadily on their winding way. 
Occasionally a glint of sunshine, filtering 
through the clouds, sustained the hopes that 
were destined to come to naught ; for early in 
the afternoon, when the lads were some dis- 
tance beyond the spot where they had eaten 
the noonday meal, the threatened storm broke 
almost without warning ; first a dead calm 
and a swift blackening of the sky, then a 
sizzle of tiny drops, and next a hard, relent- 
less downpour that woke a thousand mur- 
murous little noises in the forest. 

I wish it had held off a few hours longer,” 


82 With Puritan and Pequot 

said Humfrey, ruefully. “ How far do you 
suppose we are from Plymouth ? ” 

Ten or a dozen miles/ ^ Rufus answered. 

We must go faster. 

This they were able to do for a mile or more, 
by which time, the storm having increased in 
violence, they found themselves in difficulties. 
The rain, driven by a high wind that swept 
with a continuous roar through the trees, 
lashed and stung their faces, half-blinding 
them at times. Twice they missed the trail, 
but happily discovered it close by. The sod- 
den grass, concealing roots and stones, became 
dangerous footing. Black Betty slipped, shoot- 
ing Humfrey into a hazel copse, and after that 
he walked, leading the mare by the bridle. 

We^re not making much headway,” said 
Rufus, but we have some hours of daylight 
left, and even at this slow pace we ought to 
reach Plymouth long before dark.” 

I’d give a good bit to be there now,” re- 
plied Humfrey. I don’t like the idea of 
spending a night in the wilderness, exposed 
to the storm, but if we blunder off the trail 
again — hark ! what was that ? Do you hear 
it?” 


With Puritan and Pequot 83 

Only the wind, surely.” 

’Tis never that, Rufus. Ugh ! it makes 
my flesh creep.” 

They paused for a moment, and Rufus could 
not repress a shudder as he listened to the 
strange, uncanny noises that agitated the dis- 
tant depths of the forest — the wailing, sobbing 
sounds, rising now and again to a long-drawn 
shriek, that had nothing in common with the 
whistle of the gale, the roar of brimming 
streams, or the voice of man or beast. A cold, 
icy touch ran down his spine. 

There ! it has stopped,” exclaimed Hum- 
frey. But it will begin again presently.” 

’Twas naught to alarm us,” declared 
Rufus. “We deserve to be well laughed at 
for yielding to such stupid fears. Why, Hum- 
frey, weTe no better than two babes in the 
wood.” 

The wind had dropped a little, though the 
rain still poured with steady, soaking persist- 
ency. Drenched to the skin, with their fire- 
locks partly wrapped round with greased 
cloths and furthermore protected by the folds 
of their cloaks, the lads struggled on in the 
face of increasing disadvantages, slipping and 


84 With Puritan and Pequot 

sliding, floundering amid oozy, squashing 
mud, dashing the water from their eyes to 
peer right and left beneath the dripping boughs 
and thickets. The trail, mired like a cattle- 
track, splashed with glistening pools, grew 
more and more difficult to follow. Elusively, 
with almost baffling cunning, it crept up hill 
and down, threaded dismal hollows and ra- 
vines, dived between serried thickets and 
frowning masses of bowlders, crossed shallow 
streamlets, and skirted the quaking edges of 
alder and willow bog. 

“We’re crawling at a snail’s pace, little 
more,” panted Humfrey, breathless from pull- 
ing the reluctant horse over a marshy spot. 
“I’m afraid there’s no chance of seeing Plym- 
outh to-night.” 

A forbidding hilltop, granite-ribbed and 
crowned with moaning pines, was won by hard 
effort. The farther slope dipped to a swollen 
torrent, and having forded this at some risk, 
and groped through a half-mile of dense, level 
timber, the lads emerged on a scene of devas- 
tation wrought by one>©f nature’s titanic forces. 
Twenty, perhaps a score of years before, a hur- 
ricane had swept by here, leveling the trees. 


With Puritan and Pequot 85 

in a wide, even swath, like so many ten-pins. 
The gap was a hundred yards across, and 
stretched far to right and left. Stunted bushes, 
seemingly loth to thrive in this graveyard of 
the forest, waved above the moss that carpeted 
the open spaces. No flowers bloomed and shed 
fragrance, no bright-colored berries or fruits 
lent a note of relief. 

Buffeted by the wind, glancing furtively 
roundabout, the lads pursued Caleb Stagg’s 
trail, which zigzagged ahead of them in most 
erratic fashion, and was none too easily per- 
ceived. They were beyond the middle of the 
leveled belt when Rufus halted in evident 
perplexity and turned to his companion. 

What^s to be done now, Humfrey ? The 
path, d^you see, appears to end.” 

Why, so it does,” Humfrey assented. Or 
else the rain has washed all signs of it from 
the moss and leaves. But if we hold a straight 

course we^re sure to ” 

A shrill, frightened exclamation choked the 
sentence on his lips. A feathered arrow, wing- 
ing a swift and hissing flight, had buried half 
its length in the throat of the mare, who gave 
one frantic plunge that tore the bridle from 


86 With Puritan and Pequot 

Humfrey^s hand, then sank to her knees and 
rolled heavily over on her side. 

Save for that, and the drip of the rain, the 
silence was as before. For a moment, in the 
presence of this quiet little tragedy, the lads 
were stupefied and helpless from sheer incredu- 
lous horror. The missile had soared down the 
clearing from the west, but their quick, sweep- 
ing glance in that direction showed nothing 
rising to view, nothing stirring amid the root- 
mounds and low bushes. Then a second ar- 
row, singing viciously by Humfrey’s ear, 
roused both to a keen and tangible sense of 
their danger. 

“ Indians ! ’’ cried Rufus. ‘‘ Run ! We 
must get away from here. Nay, don’t waste 
a charge on the horse,” as he struck aside 
the barrel of Humfrey’s weapon. “ She will 
be out of her misery in a few seconds.” 

“ Poor Betty ! I wish I had left her at 
home,” Humfrey exclaimed, swallowing a sob 
of anger and distress. 

He darted after Rufus, and they ran like 
deer, bending low, among the fallen trunks 
and branching roots, holding a little to the 
southeast as they crossed the rest of the storm- 


With Puritan and Pequot 87 

razed belt. A third arrow overtook them ere 
they reached the borders of the forest, but of 
this Rufus was ignorant until, when they had 
plunged into the deep, greenish shade, Hum- 
frey displayed his hat with a flint-tipped 
hickory-dart piercing the crown through and 
through. 

Look ! ’’ he gasped. Twas whisked off 
my head — I barely caught it. And ’tis a 
Pequot arrow. 

Art sure of that ? ” 

“ I know the make — ’tis feathered from the 
wing of a redbird.’’ 

“ The Pequots hate the English,” said 
Rufus, and, if you're right, the scoundrel 
who seeks our lives is probably on some evil 
errand to the tribe of Wampanoags. There 
may be more than one, else I should try to 
match his strategy. But 'twill be wiser to 
keep in flight till night is at hand and we can 
no longer be followed.'' 

“And d'you expect meanwhile to conceal 
our tracks from an Indian's eyesight?” Hum- 
frey asked incredulously. 

“I'll do the best I can,” Rufus replied, 
“ and I think I know a little about it, un- 


88 With Puritan and Pequot 

less I’ve forgotten what I learned of wood- 
craft.” 

He added a few instructions as they sped 
on, threading their way among the sombre 
brown trunks of the trees, leaping grass and 
copse, and planting their feet lightly on the 
carpet of moss and pine-needles. Coming to 
a brook they waded a hundred yards down 
the brawling channel, leaving it finally to 
climb a steep bank of rocks. Thus, for the 
better part of an hour, they continued their 
flight through the recesses of the vast forest, 
pausing frequently to watch and listen, then 
hurrying forward again with renewed courage, 
but ever with the spectre of the stricken and 
dying mare before their eyes. At length, after 
circling round to the farther side of a boggy 
alder-swamp, they crawled deep into a cavern- 
ous thicket and there flung themselves to the 
ground, breathless and spent, sheltered from 
the rain that beat monotonously on the cano- 
pied leaves and twigs overhead. 


CHAPTER VII 


IN WHICH BLACK BETTY IS WELL AVENGED 

For a long time the lads kept anxious vigil, 
starting at every slight sound, not trusting 
themselves to speak above a whisper or to stir 
from their crouching attitudes save with the 
utmost caution. A couple of hours must have 
passed thus before they felt any measure of 
confidence, and then, emboldened by the si- 
lence, they stretched their cramped limbs and 
crawled on hands and knees to within a few 
feet of the mouth of the thicket. They looked 
on a sparsely-timbered glade, no more than a 
dozen yards wide, that was girt about by brake 
and coppice. The summer afternoon was 
drawing near its close, and signs of better 
weather, of a permanent break-up of the 
storm, were not lacking. The rain had 
ceased, and the wind blew fresh and keen 
from another point of the compass. West- 
ward, behind a boldly-jutting knoll, a rift in 
the scurrying clouds showed saffron-pink with 
the glow of the sinking sun. 

89 


yo With Puritan and Pequot 

“ We had better lie here till darkness, don’t 
you think ? ” asked Humfrey. 

Nay, I’m for pushing on at once,” Rufns 
replied. ‘‘We are clearly in a vast swamp, to 
cross which we’ll need what is left of the day- 
light. As for our enemy, why I’ll warrant 
we’ve outwitted him at his own game. The 
stream would have checked him, if he fol- 
lowed us so far as that.” 

“ Well, then, let us be starting, if only to 
seek a dryer camping-place. Our bed must 
be in the boughs of a tree, where wild animals 
can’t reach us. We won’t dare light a fire.” 

“ Nor shall we need one, I trust,” said 
Rufus. “ Look you, Humfrey, the lost trail 
will be off to our right, westward, and since 
we are no more than eight or nine miles 
from Plymouth we shall very shortly pick up 
the lower bridle-path by bearing in a south- 
easterly course.” 

“ And what then ? ” 

“ We’ll hold to it by the aid of pine-wood 
torches, unless the moon gives sufficient light. 
It should be up this evening if the sky 
clears.” 

A moment later, having crept out of the 


With Puritan and Pequot 91 

thicket, they stood gazing sharply about 
while they unwrapped the greased cloths from 
their pieces. They were on the point of 
setting off, little dreaming of danger, when a 
faint, rustling noise close by gave them a 
fright. Turning to the bushes on the right, 
they were horrified to see two feathered and 
painted redskins glide forth with catlike 
tread, their eyes glued to the trail they were 
unerringly pursuing. 

Hunters and hunted, separated by no more 
than a dozen paces, discovered one another in 
the same instant. The foremost Indian, who 
carried an arrow ready fitted to his bow, 
swiftly drew and let fiy, and hard on the 
twang of the deer sinew came a jet of fiame, 
a crashing report, as Rufus discharged his 
leveled firelock. A yell punctuated the 
echoes of the hills, and through the scatter- 
ing, bluish smoke the savage loomed dimly 
for half a second, reeling and staggering, ere 
he fell heavily forward on his face. His 
companion had turned and fied, and was al- 
ready lost to sight. 

We must have the other one,” Rufus 
cried hoarsely, else he will dog us like a 


92 With Puritan and Pequot 

panther. Quick, Humfrey — why, you’re 
hit ! ” 

“ ’Tis a mere scratch,” replied Humfrey, 
whose mouth, drawn with pain, belied his 
words. He clutched an arrow that was 
sticking in his left arm, and resolutely tore it 
from the wound, tip and all. ’Twill give 
no further trouble,” he vowed. It was 
aimed for my breast, but I dodged it timely. 
On with you, Rufus. I’ll follow.” 

They leaped by the prostrate, motionless 
redskin, and bursting through the coppice 
they emerged on a larger strip of open 
ground, across which lay a desolate, far-reach- 
ing level of brackish pools glistening dull- 
green, stunted trees shivering in the wind 
and patches of thin soil dappled with yellow 
and purple flowers. By the borders of the 
swamp were clumps of low bushes, and behind 
one of these the fugitive savage, whose 
original purpose was doubtless to get to the 
rear of the lads by a wide detour, had on 
second thoughts taken refuge. His crouch- 
ing form was invisible, but his feathered 
headdress nodded above the twigs and be- 
trayed him. 


With Puritan and Pequot 93 

There he is ! ” shouted Rufus. He stopped 
to reload his piece, his eyes flashing with 
eagerness, his hot young blood fired by the 
newly- wakened lust for warfare. An arrow, 
whistling viciously from cover, tore through 
a flapping fold of his cloak. He moved to 
the shelter of a fallen tree and went on load- 
ing with hurried fingers. 

I believe I can hit the fellow,” exclaimed 
Humfrey, as he somewhat reluctantly put his 
musket to his shoulder. 

'' Nay, he’s dropped lower now, and you’d 
surely miss him,” protested Rufus. “ He 
wishes nothing better than to draw your 
charge, and thus have us at his mercy. I’ll 
be ready in a second or two, and meanwhile 
do you keep yonder stone in front of you.” 

Humfrey crawled to the indicated spot. 
The concealed savage, whom Rufus had 
rightly credited with a desire to draw the fire 
of his enemies, several times poked into view 
what was probably a bunch of feathers 
fastened to one end of his bow. The ruse 
failing, he let drive three arrows in quick 
succession. They whizzed very near the 
mark and struck a little to the rear. 


94 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ I don’t like this,” grumbled Humfrey. 
‘‘ We’ll be hit directly we rise. The rogue 
isn’t showing an inch of himself, and I’m 
not sure that he is still behind the same bush.” 

“ We’re not going to rise,” said Rufus, as he 
finished charging his piece and dropped some 
powder into the pan. “ We must match 
cunning against cunning. I’m ready now. 
Work round to the left, creeping as fiat as you 
can, while I bear in the opposite direction. 
The one who gets the first glimpse ” 

“ I see him,” shouted Humfrey. There, 
he’s off!” 

Both lads sprang to their feet. The Indian, 
judging that by this time the empty musket 
was recharged, and finding himself in a 
tighter place than he had bargained for, had 
suddenly made a start in the direction that 
offered the best chance of escape — straight 
across the swamp. He ran like a deer, bound- 
ing lightly over the quivering soil, nor 
slackened speed when Humfrey ’s firelock 
spoke with a crashing roar. 

You’ve missed him,” exclaimed Rufus. 

Ay, the piece kicked and threw the charge 
too high. ’Tis your turn — be quick.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 95 

Rufus lifted his weapon and took careful 
aim, then lowered the barrel. “ I can’t do it,” 
he cried. I can’t shoot the poor wretch in 
cold blood. Let him go — he deserves his 
life.” 

“ But ’twill be unsafe to spare him,” sug- 
gested Humfrey. 

Ay, so it will. We must think of our- 
selves. And yet ” 

Intently they watched the fleeing flgure, 
Rufus still hesitating, loth to Are. And the 
next instant fate, by an unexpected stroke, 
took the choice out of his hands. A dense 
clump of trees and undergrowth, some thirty 
yards out in the swamp, was the point the 
redskin was striving to reach. He was more 
than halfway to it, having safely leaped from 
islet to islet, from one grass-tussock to an- 
other, when he was confronted by a sheet of 
black, open water four or five yards wide. 
His footing was too precarious for delay, even 
had he been able to check himself on the 
brink. He was compelled to jump, and did so 
with such little impetus that he landed in the 
middle of the pool, where, submerged almost 
to his armpits, he stuck fast. He strained and 


96 With Puritan and Pequot 

tugged, clutched at the empty air, but all in 
vain. Despite his desperate efforts to release 
himself he continued to sink deeper and 
deeper. 

He’s a dead Indian,” gasped Humfrey. 

There’s bottomless mud under him, and it’s 
got tight hold of his feet and is sucking him 
down. He’ll never get out.” 

Perhaps we can help him,” cried Rufus. 
“ I hate to see him perish like that.” 

’Tis useless. He’s beyond aid.” 

** At least we can try. Quick, Humfrey ! ” 
They hastened to the edge of the marsh, 
and running along a half-sunken log they 
leaped from it to a doubtful floating surface of 
intermatted roots and vegetation. But it was 
utterly impossible for them to reach or assist 
the luckless redskin, who was already sub- 
merged to the shoulders. Before their horri- 
fied gaze the fatal quagmire drew him down 
relentlessly, steadily, as if in the grip of some 
unseen aquatic monster. He ceased to 
struggle, meeting his doom with the strange 
stoicism of his race, and chanting a weird, 
guttural death-song until the greenish-brown 
waters choked his voice. They swiftly 


With Puritan and Pequot 97 

mounted to his nostrils and eyes, closed at last 
above feathered scalp-lock and uplifted hands. 
The tragedy was over. 

Sick at heart, white and trembling, the lads 
made their way back to firm ground. They 
were unnerved by the terrible scene, and the 
Indian^s heroism had turned their enmity to 
pity and admiration. Humfrey, unable to 
conceal longer the pain he was suffering and 
the blood that trickled freely down his sleeve, 
bared his left arm and disclosed a ragged hole 
in the flesh, above the elbow. Rufus bathed 
the wound, and wrapped it tightly in a strip 
torn from his own shirt. 

‘‘ That must do till we get to Plymouth,’’ 
he said. ’Tis an ugly hurt, and you’ll feel 
it more to-morrow.” 

I feel it enough now,” Humfrey answered 
ruefully, but I’ve still got the use of the arm, 
and that’s the main thing. Shall we take a 
look at the other redskin before we set off? ” 

“ ’Twould be just as well,” Rufus assented, 
without relish. 

They found the savage where he had fallen. 
Rufus, standing by the stiffening clay, re- 
gretted the fled soul while admitting the jus- 


98 With Puritan and Pequot 

tice of the act. He had been reared amid 
stormy and turbulent times, and had seen 
human life taken more than once, but some- 
how this was different and stirred him deeply. 

“ You had to do it,’’ said Humfrey, divin- 
ing his friend’s thoughts. ‘‘ He meant to kill 
us. They were both Pequots, and that isn’t 
as bad as if they had been Wampanoags or 
Narragansetts.” 

'' ’Tis bad enough,” declared Rufus. I 
should like to know what errand brought 
them so far from their own tribe, but that is 
likely to remain a mystery. ’Twas to secure 
our firelocks, no doubt, that they followed us 
up with such persistency and craft. There 
may have been a larger party, so it behooves 
us to put this fellow out of the way, and then 
seek the Plymouth trail with all speed.” 

‘‘ The wolves will devour him.” 

Ay, in time. And meanwhile he shall lie 
in yonder thicket. Come, Humfrey, lend a 
hand.” 

The unpleasant task was soon accomplished. 
They carried the body several yards into their 
late hiding-place, and leaving it there in the 
dim shadows, with weapons and pipe to keep 


With Puritan and Pequot yg 

it company, they hurriedly departed from the 
neighborhood, casting many a furtive and un- 
easy glance over their shoulders. 

The riven clouds were scudding thickly 
across the heavens, affording glimpses of pale 
blue sky, and the glow on the western hori- 
zon, seen through the black tree-trunks, told 
how nearly the sun was down. It was neces- 
sary to make a considerable detour round the 
borders of the swamp, and this wasted so 
much time that when the lads finally got 
into an undulating pine-wood the twilight 
was closing in darkly. Since Humfrey had 
lost the tinder-box, containing flint and steel, 
they were deprived of the hoped-for guidance 
and protection of torches. They pushed on 
as well as they could, groping from tree to 
tree, wandering down the spectral aisles and 
glades of the forest, until the moon grew 
bright. A little later wolves began to howl 
at a great distance, and the cries of other 
prowling animals — some weird and unrecog- 
nizable — further disturbed the silence of the 
night. 

Shall we climb into a tree ? '' ventured 
Humfrey, anxiously. 


LofC. 


loo With Puritan and Pequot 

Not unless we’re compelled to,” said 
Eufus. “ We’re traveling southeast right 
enough — I’ve got my bearings by the moon 
and stars — and if there’s light enough to pick 
up the lower trail there ought to be light 
enough to follow it.” 

We may have crossed it already.” 

I don’t think so. Lean on me when 
you’re tired, Humfrey. Does the arni pain 
you much ? ” 

“ It throbs and burns,” Humfrey replied, 
gritting his teeth as he jostled the injured 
limb against a sapling. “ Never mind, I can 
stand it. What’s that shining below us ? 
Water?” 

'' I hope so,” said Rufus, “ for I’m badly in 
want of a drink.” 

They stumbled down the hill into the 
depths of the ravine, and parting a fringe of 
undergrowth found themselves by a stream 
that had gathered no little volume from the 
recent rains. Having slaked their thirst the 
lads beat along the edge of the flood, first in 
one direction and then in the other, search- 
ing, but without success, for an easy fording. 

It can’t be very deep,” said Humfrey, 


lOl 


with Puritan and Pequot 

“ and 'tis no more than twenty yards across. 
I'll lead the way — a wetting won’t hurt us.” 

“ We’ll get that, for sure,” Rufus replied. 

Holding his firelock high Huinfrey stepped 
into the stream, which at once rose to his 
waist. He waded forward for several yards, 
gradually deeper, and then suddenly disap- 
peared with a splash. Rufus was close be- 
hind, and without an instant’s delay he 
plunged to the rescue. But there was no 
cause for alarm. Humfrey promptly shot to 
the surface, gasping and spluttering, treading 
water while he glanced over his shoulder. 

I’m all right,” he cried. We may as 
well go on now. We’ll have to swim — there’s 
no bottom 3^et.” 

Rufus overtook him by a spurt, and side by 
side they swam against the current, with cool, 
one-armed strokes. Their weapons impeded 
them somewhat, and they were carried a con- 
siderable distance down stream before they 
touched hard ground underfoot, from which 
point they waded leisurely ashore and shook 
themselves like two dripping dogs. The air 
was warm, and they felt little discomfort. 

“ A brisk run will put us in a glow,” said 


102 With Puritan and Pequot 

Rufus. '' ’Tis a pity about our firelocks. 
Mine was quite under water half the time.” 

“ So was mine,” replied Humfrey. ‘‘ I hope 
we won’t need them, for they’re of no use in 
this condition. But what’s to be done next ? ” 
“ Sure you’re able to go on ? ” asked Rufus. 

. As long as you are,” was the dogged reply. 

“ Then we’ll follow the course of the stream, 
and if we miss the two paths that cross it, 
why wee’ll just keep on to the coast.” 

Though the lads were beginning to feel 
fatigue — not to speak of Humfrey’s wounded 
arm — in their defenseless condition anything 
was preferable to a night in the woods. For 
some time they traversed a rich bottom-land, 
heavily timbered, and then, having made the 
mistake of not keeping strictly to the edge of 
the stream, they suddenly discovered that 
they had lost it. They bore to the left, ex- 
pecting every moment to see the gleam of 
water. 

It can’t be far off,” Humfrey said hope- 
fully. 

Unless the channel has made a sharp 
turn,” Rufus suggested, and that’s the only 
way to account for ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 103 

Hark ! interrupted Humfrey, clutching 
at his companion’s shoulder. 

A whimpering, sobbing cry, pitched in a 
plaintive key, quavered most uncannily 
through the recesses of the forest. It came 
from no great distance to the rear of the lads, 
and they shuddered as they listened. 

“What was that ?” Humfrey added. “It 
sounded like a child in distress, but there can 
be none hereabouts.” 

“ ’Twas no child,” Rufus said hoarsely. 
“ Heaven help us, Humfrey. ’Tis a panther. 
The hungry beast is creeping on our trail, and 
I know not how we shall escape it.” 

“ The stream ” 

“ Ay, if we can find it again and swim to 
the other side, the panther would hardly 
follow. Come, ’tis our only chance.” 

Rufus did not exaggerate the danger. With 
damp and useless firelocks, otherwise un- 
armed save for their hunting-knives, the lads 
were at the mercy of this terrible pest of the 
wilderness, who would unhesitatingly have 
pursued them to the top of the highest tree. 
They fied madly, bruising their limbs as they 
tore through scrub and timber, straining their 


104 With Puritan and Pequot 


eyes right and left for the flooded rivulet that 
meant so much to them. But the unbroken 
forest still stretched on all sides, the pallid 
moonlight filtering from the canopied boughs 
onto the grim and sombre trunks, and in 
their anxious hearts grew the conviction that 
they had lost their bearings and were going 
the wrong way. 

At first there was an interval of silence, and 
this, while it continued, gave the lads some 
slight hope that the panther might not be 
following them. But the scrap of comfort 
was short-lived. Again they heard the plain- 
tive, half-human cry sobbing to the night, 
twice repeated, and a little later, as the an- 
imal drew hotter on the scent, their blood 
was turned cold by angry, rasping screams 
that rang nearer and nearer. They plunged 
on blindly, at desperate speed, until wind and 
strength began to fail them. Rufus, looking 
back fearfully, caught a glimpse of a long, 
lithe form bounding across a glade not fifty 
yards behind. It vanished in the deep, inter- 
lying shadows, from which he knew the crea- 
ture might spring at any moment now. Pie 
imagined he could hear a swift, muliied 


With Puritan and Pequot 105 

patter on the moss and leaves. His flesh 
crept. 

“ Tis almost up with us ! ” he panted. 

Will we never reach the water? Faster, 
faster, Humfrey, for your life ! ” 

He laid hold of his companion’s arm, 
dragged him along. They ran a little farther, 
stumbling and staggering. Their pursuer 
screeched in their very ears, as it seemed, and 
at the same instant Humfrey tripped over a 
log and fell headlong. 

“ Leave me,” he gasped, as Rufus tried to 
pull him to his feet, I can’t go — another — 
step.” 

“ Lie still ! ” cried Rufus ; and with that he 
faced round, swung his flrelock in readiness 
for a smashing blow, and waited. Out from 
the black shadows, into a patch of sward 
silver-fretted by the glancing rays of the 
moon, glided the great panther. It paused 
for a moment, deterred by the brave lad’s 
shouts, and the next instant leaped to within 
ten feet of him. There the beast crouched in 
the gloom, spitting and mewling with rage, a 
hideous, evil, shapeless thing with two eyes 
of burning green fire. It quivered, lashed 


io6 With Puritan and Pequot 

its tail, prepared to spring. And just 
then 

“ Stoop low ! whispered a strange, stern 
voices immediately behind Rufus ; and as he 
obeyed the command, wondering and half- 
dazed, a jet of flame spurted over his head 
and a deafening roar nearly threw him off 
his feet. Through the drifting powder-smoke 
he vaguely saw the panther writhing, and 
tearing at the ground. 


CHAPTER VIII 


IN WHICH THE PLYMOUTH TRAIL YIELDS FUR- 
THER ADVENTURE 

The pungent smoke sifted upward, and the 
last echoes of the firelock’s crash reverberated 
into faraway silence. Humfrey rose, limping, 
from behind the log. Neither he nor Rufus 
quite realized their miraculous deliverance, so 
amazingly had it come about. With furtive 
mistrust they scanned the man who stood in- 
distinctly revealed by their side, his attention 
fixed on the panther. The convulsive strug- 
gles were of brief duration. The twitching 
of the limbs ceased, and the tawny-gray body 
settled to the repose of death. 

“ Shingascung ! ” 

The summons quickly brought, from what 
looked to be a dense coppice in the rear, a 
splendid, scantily-clad figure of an Indian. 
He carried aloft a blazing torch of pine-wood, 
and as the ruddy glare streamed full upon the 
half-frightened lads, the stranger with the 
firelock tamed inquisitive, searching eyes 

107 


io8 With Puritan and Pequot 

toward them. There was apprehension as 
well as curiosity in his glance. 

“ Who are ye that wander in the forest by 
night? ” he asked curtly. ‘‘ If you can give a 
good account of yourselves 

“ Why, Tis Master Williams ! ” cried Rufus 
and Humfrey in one breath, vastly relieved 
to recognize the grave, kindly face of their 
rescuer. 

Roger Williams bent closer scrutiny on the 
lads, then, evidently as pleased as they, he 
greeted them warmly and by name. 

“ One must be careful in the wilderness,” he 
said. “ I did not know you at first, and small 
blame to me, since your cheeks are smudged 
with powder-grime. YouVe a story to tell, 
doubtless. That I’ve supplied a happy end- 
ing to it is my good fortune as well as yours. 
I heard the outcry, and arrived, ’twould seem, 
at a most fateful moment. Indeed, I’d scarcely 

time to take aim ” 

’Twas a fine shot,” broke in Rufus. 

‘‘It needed to be, for much hung upon it.” 

He spoke to the redskin, who threw the 
light of the torch on the dead panther. It 
was a huge animal, at least eight feet from tip 


With Puritan and Pequot 109 

to tail, with a superb head and coat and thick, 
powerful paws. The heavy charge, entering 
its breast, had failed to kill it at once. 

“ There’s one enemy of mankind the less,” 
said Roger Williams. And now, my young 
friends, will you step yonder to my poor 
abode? You’re welcome to such hospitality 
as it affords.” 

He led the way to the farther side of what 
the lads had taken for a dense coppice, but 
which proved to be a group of large rocks 
closely piled together and screened about by 
bushes. Creeping through a narrow cleft that 
compelled them to stoop low, they were sur- 
prised to find themselves in a circular space 
of several yards diameter. All round it tow- 
ered irregular bowlders, some rising sheer, 
others at an angle that formed a cavernous 
shelter at their base. From the left grew a 
pine-tree, slanting upward, and its spreading 
limbs served as a roof to the opening above. 
To one side was a pallet of fragrant spruce- 
boughs, and near by blazed a tiny fire of 
pitched wood, over which, spitted on an alder- 
shoot spanning two forked twigs, the carcass 
of a small animal was roasting. 


1 10 


With Puritan and Pequot 

The rude preparations for supper and sleep, 
the bleak environment of this rocky nest in 
the wilderness, told a simple, pathetic story as 
plainly as words could have done. For such 
a bitter mess of pottage had the persecuted 
minister sold his birthright, forsaken the 
pleasant life of London town and Norfolk 
hamlet, an eminent career at the bar and the 
patronage of the great Lord Coke. 

But if Roger Williams felt the contrast he 
was far from showing it. Cheerfully, with his 
habitual sweet smile, he placed a slab of bark 
for his guests, and seated himself on a stone 
opposite. 

“ You shall share our frugal meal, if you 
will,” said he. And meanwhile, till it be 
ready, may I listen to your adventures ? ” 

The wolves will feast to-night,” said Hum- 
frey. Dare I speak openly? ” and he threw 
a meaning glance at the Indian, who squatted 
stolidly by the fire, turning the spit. 

“ Shingascung the Narragansett is my 
brother,” Roger Williams replied. He is to 
be trusted even as you would trust me. Have 
no fear.” 

Their confidence thus invited, the lads gave 


Ill 


With Puritan and Pequot 

between them a brief account of the things 
that had befallen them in the forest. The 
narrative held the minister’s close attention, 
drawing a word of comment now and then, or 
striking a flash of interest from his eyes. 

“ I’m not surprised,” said he, when he had 
put a few questions, “ for I heard a fortnight 
past that Pequots had been seen within the 
territory of the Bay Colony. Their errand ? 
— that I know not. But you did quite right 
to defend yourselves. I, who detest blood- 
shed, would have done the same. ’Twill be 
just as well, however, to be chary of speech 
concerning this matter.” 

‘‘ We will heed your advice,” replied Hum- 
frey. “ The Indian whom we slew lies in a 
deep thicket, and the wolves will not be long 
in flnding the body.” 

“ Let us hope so. Master Brewster. Dry 
bones tell but an incomplete tale. As for the 
bog, ’twill keep its secret fast. By-the-by, 
did I not see both of you at Jarvis Story’s 
house three nights ago ? ” 

We were there, sir,” exclaimed Rufus, 
and escaped by a window before the Gov- 
ernor recognized us. Indeed, we think it 


1 12 


With Puritan and Pequot 

shameful that you should sulFer such treat- 
merit for preaching what even your enemies 
must know to be the truth. 

“ I desire all men to be my friends,” said 
Roger Williams, with a sad smile, but they 
will not have it so. My dear lads, you are 
young — you stand on the threshold of wide 
possibilities. Be honest, true to yourselves. 
Lead sincere lives. So far as you can hold 
fast to liberty of conscience, yet — and in this 
I counsel you from bitter experience — flaunt 
it not where it may be ill-received. Tis a 
priceless jewel, and hard to acquire. IVe 
sought it vainly at home in England, with 
no better success in the settlements of the 
New World. But come what may, until my 
last breath I’ll maintain the right to speak and 
think from the soul that God hath given 
me.” 

Shingascung, waking from his statuesque 
immobility, reached out a bronzed arm to 
replenish the Are, and jabbed the roasting 
meat with a pine-splint. ’Twas just then that 
Rufus leaned forward to steady one of the 
forked twigs, and from the bosom of his 
doublet, which he had partly opened to the 


With Puritan and Pequot 113 

warmth, there fell the letter entrusted to him 
by Boston’s chief magistrate. Roger Williams 
quickly picked it up and handed it to the lad, 
and in so doing perforce observed the familiar 
seal on the reverse side. 

“ I’m carrying it to Governor Bradford,” 
said Rufus, as he restored the letter to its 
place. 

“ ’Twas given you prior to or after the 
meeting at Jarvis Story’s ? ” casually inquired 
the minister. 

“ ’Twas after,” put in Humfrey, failing to 
catch the drift of the question. 

Williams shrugged his shoulders almost 
imperceptibly, and the corners of his mouth 
tightened in a grim, ironical expression. 

“ I’ve been thinking,” he said a minute 
later, in a matter-of-fact tone. “ For prudent 
reasons you’d best not remain here till morn- 
ing, loth though I am to cast you adrift 
again. But Shingascung will guide you to 
the bridle-path — you’ve gone far astray — and 
will leave you within six miles of Plymouth. 
The moon is bright, and I’ll provide you with 
a sufficiency of pine-wood torches, so there will 
be nothing to fear from wild beasts. You 


114 With Puritan and Pequot 


shall sup with me first, and then I’ll wish 
you Godspeed.” 

This proposition was unexpected, and did 
not entirely please the lads, since they were 
weary and footsore, and would have preferred 
to spend the night in their present snug 
quarters. But the choice not resting with 
them, they concealed their dissatisfaction. 
When the cooked meat was served on trench- 
ers of birch-bark, seasoned with a pinch of 
salt, they discovered how hungry they were. 
Having done ample justice to the food, which 
put fresh strength into them, they soon after- 
ward made ready for the journey and set off, 
Roger Williams going with the little party for 
a few yards. 

“ Here we part,” said he, pausing. 

But you will come later to Plymouth ? ” 
asked Rufus. ‘‘ You have good friends there, 
and can count on a welcome.” 

“ A welcome that would speedily grow cold, 
as you may understand before you are many 
hours older,” was the evasive reply. One 
thing I venture to ask of you. Do not, un- 
less you are questioned, tell any person that 
you have seen me.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 115 

Both lads gave him an earnest assurance of 
silence. 

I thank you for the promise/' he said 
gratefully. “ 'Tis conditional, remember. If 
you’re interrogated, then speak out freely. 
And now farewell. Heaven keep you safely ! ” 

With that the young minister turned back 
to his lonely retreat, and in single file the 
three plunged into the forest, the Indian 
leading the way with a burning brand. 
Fatigue was forgotten as the lads followed 
their dusky guide, who continued mostly at 
a dog-trot, and seemed never for a moment at 
fault. Not a word was spoken. Silently 
they pushed on, and came in rather more 
than an hour to a narrow and faint track, so 
little-trodden, indeed, that it could scarcely 
be perceived even by the light of the pine- 
knot. 

Plymouth trail,” said Shingascung, in his 
guttural voice, as he pointed ahead. ‘‘ Keep 
eyes open — no miss.” 

He ignited a faggot of pitched wood for 
each of his companions, and the next instant 
was gone, a parted coppice swinging shut be- 
hind his tall figure. With their firelocks 


ii6 With Puritan and Pequot 

strapped across their shoulders, carrying their 
flaring torches high, the lads struck into the 
winding path. So long as they exercised 
ordinary vigilance they were unlikely to lose 
it, for at short intervals the trunks of the 
great trees were blazed with an axe. 

We’re all right now,” said Humfrey. “ It 
can’t be much more than eleven o’clock, and 
we ought to do the six miles in considerably 
under two hours. What a lot of things have 
happened since we left Boston yesterday 
morning. Why, there’s been enough of ad- 
venture to last us half a lifetime. Did it 
occur to you, Rufus, that Master Williams was 
somewhat anxious to be rid of our company ? ” 
“ Nay, surely you misjudge him. ’Twas 
for our own good he bade us go. He spoke 
of prudent reasons, Humfrey.” 

“But what could they have been? Was 
he afraid, think you, that friends of those 
dead Pequots were following our trail ? ” 

“ Possibly ’twas that,” Rufus assented. 

“ Well, we’re not likely to meet with any 
further adventures this side of Plymouth,” 
pursued Humfrey. “ Wilt deliver the letter 
to-night, or wait till morning? You’d never 


With Puritan and Pequot 117 

have been entrusted with it, I’ll warrant, had 
Governor Vane but known who defaced the 
standard.” 

“ I would do the same thing over again, if 
I had the chance,” Rufus boldly declared. 

“ You don’t really mean that.” 

I’d like to show you.” 

Humfrey, somewhat puzzled by his friend’s 
mood, lapsed into reflective silence. They 
had now gone about a mile from where they 
parted with the Indian, and a little later, as 
they were pressing along a very wild and 
rugged part of the trail, keeping watch for the 
blazed trees, a sound of voices came suddenly 
to their ears from no great distance. They 
paused to listen, startled and incredulous, and 
at the same instant, before either could speak, 
a man rose up from a copse on the left. 
Swarthy, black-bearded, clad as a sailor — such 
was the first hasty impression of him read by 
the glow of the torches. 

Hold, young sirs, a word with you,” he 
cried roughly, levelling a firelock. “ Nay, 
bide as you are, with hands up. Whither 
bound, and what’s your business ? ” 

Does that concern you ? ” exclaimed 


ii8 With Puritan and Pequot 


Rufus, his temper ruffled by the cool de- 
mand. 

I make it my pleasure.’^ 

“ Well, then, to satisfy your curiosity, we're 
traveling from Boston to Plymouth." 

“ And why by night ? " 

“ The storm delayed us," put in Humfrey. 

Wilt lower that weapon, sir, and let us pass ? " 
As he spoke a merry peal of laughter rang 
through the forest, too clear to be mistaken. 
The bearded stranger, who had seemed to 
hesitate for an instant, glanced with a scowl 
in the direction of the noise, muttering under 
his breath. He slipped quickly to the rear of 
the lads, his firelock still at his shoulder. 

“ Pve no authority to let you go your way," 
said he. ‘‘ There are others yonder who may 
be desirous of your company for a time. 
Right-about ! March ! " 

Fuming with rage, yet not daring to disre- 
gard the command, Rufus and Humfrey struck 
off to the left of the trail, guided by an occa- 
sional word from their captor, who followed 
close at their heels. A ruddy light winked at 
them through the trees, and of a sudden a rich, 
pleasing voice began : 


With Puritan and Pequot 119 

“Since Helen sang the songs of Troy, 

And Dido fled from ancient Tyre, 

Since Herod’s daughter danced for joy, 

And Cleopatra strung her lyre, 

Since then, all men, at Siren’s call. 

Have slaved, and braved, in lover’s thrall, 

And blindly tripped it to their fall. 

“ But we, of sterner metal, spurn, 

The wiles that blandish but to burn. 

The sword’s our mistress, her we serve, 

We flaunt the steel, the spoils deserve, 

And if perchance ’ ’ 


Some one, doubtless perceiving the glare of 
the approaching torches, called out harshly. 
The ballad came to an abrupt ending, and the 
next instant the lads emerged from a copse of 
bushes and stood in the presence of the 
singer. 


CHAPTER IX 


IN WHICH THE LADS FALL IN WITH MERRY BUT 
DOUBTFUL COMPANY 

The spot to which the lads had been 
brought thus unwillingly — they instantly 
recognized it — was one of evil omen, feared 
and avoided by the people of Plymouth, 
where in the early days of the colony a too- 
confiding settler and his family had been 
cruelly slain by starving Indians whom they 
had succored. In a clearing of small extent, 
begirt by encroaching timber and brake, 
stood the long-disused cabin, its front open to 
the forests, its roof partly tumbled in, and the 
side and rear wails in scarcely better preserva- 
tion. But to-night, what with the strange 
and merry company it held, and the great fire 
blazing on a patch of sward just outside, the 
place looked cheerful enough. Gathered 
around the crackling logs — for the storm had 
cooled the atmosphere — were half a dozen 
sturdy fellows of truculent mien and hardened 
visage, armed to the teeth, and all seafaring 
120 


121 


With Puritan and Pequot 

desperadoes from their thick beards and sun- 
blackened skin, their short, wide trowsers and 
broad-rimmed hats of palmetto straw. Behind 
them on what had been the threshold of the 
ruined cabin sat three others with a flaring 
pine-knot thrust into a crevice between them. 
A heap of spruce-boughs laid for bedding, and 
a number of bulky packages covered with sail- 
cloth, lent a shadowy background to the scene. 

There was a short interval of silence. The 
lads could almost feel the intense, searching 
scrutiny that was leveled at them by the en- 
tire crew, whom they in turn regarded with 
what courage they could muster. Then one 
of the above mentioned three sprang to his 
feet with an angry exclamation. 

Pharaoh, how comes this? ’’ he demanded. 
“ You’ve disobeyed orders, you dog.” 

And with sound reason, else my name’s 
not Pharaoh Flinton,” replied the ruffian who 
had brought the prisoners in. “ If you’d 
made less noise, sir, there would have been no 
necessity to ” 

The first speaker intervened with a gesture 
of impatience, and having curtly dismissed 
the man to his post, he turned to Rufus and 


122 


With Puritan and Pequot 

Humfrey and looked them steadily in the face 
for a moment. He had already shown him- 
self to be a person of some authority, although 
his age was not above twenty-three or twenty- 
four at the most. For the rest, his figure was 
slim and sinewy, there was a touch of the 
swashbuckler in his easy bearing, and his 
features, cut in faultless lines, challenged irre- 
sistible admiration at first sight. He was an 
Englishman, beyond doubt, and of no mean 
birth. A silky, golden moustache shaded his 
upper lip, his hair fell in light, curling locks 
to his shoulders, and the sun had kindly 
tanned his cheeks to a most becoming hue of 
ruddy-brown. He wore high boots of rich 
leather turned over at the knee, and carried a 
sword with a jeweled hilt ; his doublet was 
slashed, his cloak lined with blue taffeta, and 
on his yellow tresses was perched a soft, low- 
crowned hat, its wide rim looped up at one 
side with a silver buckle and decked with a 
sweeping black plume. 

Having taken brief stock of the lads, he 
stepped toward them with a smile that added 
not a little to his charms, bowing slightly as 
he doffed his hat. 


With Puritan and Pequot 123 

“ Why, you’re but a couple of striplings ! ” 
he exclaimed ; and his voice was like a ripple 
of laughter. “ Come ! cheer up — I bid you 
heartily welcome. Away with melancholy. 
There’s no occasion for it, believe me. Ha ! 
I’d forgotten my attempt at a song, which 
must have been poor indeed. Had I known 
that strangers were within earshot ” 

“ We should be very glad to hear the re- 
mainder of it, sir,” put in Rufus, whose fears 
were fast vanishing. 

‘‘ Slife ! you’ve a ready wit — and the tact 
of a courtier,” cried the fine young gentleman. 

’Twas never the wilderness nurtured you. 
I’ll warrant. We shall be friends, I perceive, 
if you’ll have it so. And why not? I beg 
you will regard me as at your service, and con- 
sent to overlook what must appear to you the 
most unwarrantable conduct of my good 
Pharaoh, who was clearly of the opinion that 
you’d gone astray in the forest.” 

‘‘We were not at fault, sir,” said Humfrey. 
“ If you truly wish to serve us, let us continue 
our journey without further delay.” 

“ ’Tis not to be thought of,” was the smiling 
reply. “ ’Twould be inviting all sorts of peril 


124 With Puritan and Pequot 


to send you forth into the darkness and the 
night. Sink me, but Fve taken a fancy to 
your company, and that’s a compliment Vayl- 
mer Laplash pays to few. Say no more. 
Here you are, and here you bide till morning, 
when you shall go your way rejoicing. I’ll 
hold you no longer, I vow.” 

As their would-be host was obviously a gen- 
tleman of tenacious purpose, and not to be ar- 
gued out of it, the lads had no choice but to 
fall in with his wishes. Discarding their 
torches they followed him past the fire to the 
threshold of the cabin, Humfrey accepting the 
situation reluctantly and with an ill grace, 
while Rufus seemed to regard it from an op- 
posite point of view. The adventure prom- 
ised to be pleasing and harmless, he told him- 
self. 

Allow me to make you acquainted with 
my very good comrades,” said Vaylmer Lap- 
lash. “You behold on the left Captain Dol- 
lier Le Casson, a true gallant and soldier of 
France, though you’ll find him serving under 
any banner that bids for a life of action. The 
other is Barbe Rouge — you’ll not seek far for 
the name. He is a knave of parts, hath a 


With Puritan and Pequot 125 

ready wit for any emergency, is sanctimonious 
to a degree, and can snuffle sermons like a par- 
son. Add to this a strong arm and a con- 
science lacking, and you’ll perceive his value.” 

Assez ! mon ami,” exclaimed the French- 
man, with a quick, warning glance at Laplash. 

I offer most cordial greetings to your new 
friends,” he continued in a different tone, as 
he slowly rose. He was perhaps six and 
twenty, as finely attired as his young leader, 
with reckless dissipated features. He wore a 
dark moustache with ends twisted straight up, 
and a slight tuft of hair under his lower lip. 

As for the man called Barbe Rouge, though 
he also had risen at the introduction, he had 
only a scowl by way of acknowledgment. For 
an instant the light shone on his lanky six- 
foot frame illy-clad, his pale, watery eyes and 
crooked nose, the sallow face patched with a 
straggling beard of fiery red ; then, with a 
low-muttered word or two, he clumsily re- 
treated to the shadows behind him and threw 
himself on the spruce-boughs. 

Sulky dog ! ” said Laplash. What’s 
come over him ? He was merry enough a bit 
ago.” 


126 With Puritan and Pequot 

'' Parbleu ! he’s abashed by your open 
praise,” Captain Le Casson laughed sneer- 
ingly. 

“ Mayhap ; but ’tis not like him to be thin- 
skinned, Dollier.” 

The worm will turn, mon cher Vaylmer. 
Prenez garde ! ” 

They dropped languidly to one of two hewn 
logs placed at right angles on the floor, and 
Rufus and Humfrey seated themselves on the 
other. The men lounging on the grass out- 
side, who had been paying the closest attention 
to what was going on, with an air of relief re- 
turned to the game they had been playing in 
the turf by the Are. 

It was a weird, half-enchanting scene. The 
uncouth voices and faces of the picturesquely- 
clad sailors, the fire-flashes leaping in chase 
of the shadows that quivered by the sombre 
forest verge, the play of the moonlight silting 
through banks of foliage, the comely presence 
of Vaylmer Laplash and the young French- 
man, their gay, bantering conversation and 
laughter — all helped to weave a charm about 
Rufus, to steep his imagination in sweet, in- 
tangible dreams of romance. 


With Puritan and Pequot 127 

His mood had changed ; he felt the sooth- 
ing spell of the contrast between his fight for 
life with the perils of the wilderness and this 
camp of rollicking, worldly-minded adven- 
turers. Forgotten was Roger Williams, and 
the influence of his heroic example. Again 
the lad was stirred by vague longings, restless, 
burning desires, as on the day when Sir Lans- 
lott Charmion and Annis appeared to him as 
a vision from another world. 

Vaylmer Laplash plied the lads with pleas- 
antries and Rufus fell merrily in with his 
mood, regardless of a beseeching nudge from 
Humfrey. His cheeks flushed, his voice grew 
loud. Deftly urged by Laplash, he spoke of the 
journey through the forest, of the monotonous 
life he had led since childhood, and even of 
Sir Lanslott and his daughter. 

Humfrey, disdaining all overtures, aware of 
the futility of remonstrance or pleading, sat 
in neglected silence, his honest heart sorely 
troubled for his friend. And in the dusky 
background Barbe Rouge, his head uplifted 
among the spruce-boughs and his gray eyes 
as venomous as a serpent's, watched and lis- 
tened. 


128 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Helas ! what an existence/^ sneered Dollier 
Le Casson. “ ’Twas never meant for one of 
your metal, my boy/^ 

“ You’re right, sir,” exclaimed Rufus. 
“ I’m sick and tired of it all. Ah, if I could 
but travel and see the world like Sir Lanslott 
Charmion ” 

To that worthy gentleman’s good health,” 
interrupted Vaylmer Laplash, raising his 
cup. 

And not forgetting the fair mademoiselle,” 
put in Le Casson. 

The other laughed, then stepped to the rear 
in quest of his tobacco pouch. Humfrey 
took prompt advantage of this move, and of a 
noisy outburst at the same instant from the 
crew outside on the firelit sward. 

“ Art blind, Rufus ? ” he whispered. “ These 
are no comrades for us. They’re in the forest 
to barter unlawfully with the Indians — to sell 
them muskets, and powder and ball, and un- 
der yonder sailcloth will be their bales of 
goods. Doubtless they’ve a vessel snugly 
hidden in some inlet of the coast.” 

“ Nay, you’re surely wrong,” Rufus an- 
swered carelessly. “ Have they the look of 


With Puritan and Pequot 129 

common traders, these fine gentlemen ? And 
even if 

Hush ! '' cautioned Humfrey. “ You’ll 
be overheard.” 

Laplash, returning at that moment, clapped 
Rufus on the shoulder. 

“ Sink me, but I like your spirit, my young 
Puritan — and your looks as well,” said he. 
“ You’re wasted, thrown away, here in this 
narrow-minded, woebegone colony of his 
gracious majesty Charles Stuart. Seems a 
pity.” 

Ay, so it is,” assented Le Casson. “ He 
had better join us. We’ll show him the 
world, and perhaps make his fortune.” 

I should dearly love to come with you,” 
vowed Rufus, his eyes sparkling with excite- 
ment. 

Humfrey, whose presence had been con- 
temptuously ignored, now rose, yawning, and 
withdrew a little to one side, where he 
stretched himself on the rotted fioor, using 
his hat for a pillow. But Vaylmer Laplash 
and his friend were in no mind for bed, and 
finding Rufus as wide-awake as themselves, 
and eager to listen, they captivated him still 


130 With Puritan and Pequot 


further with glowing, vivid descriptions of 
the great world of which he was so densely 
ignorant. They had dwelt in London and 
Paris, had visited most of the capitals of Eu- 
rope. And the New World, it would appear, 
they were no less acquainted with. Rufus 
felt that he could listen till morning to the 
splendid pictures they drew of the life that 
he longed to see for himself. The magic 
poison was sucking at his soul, and when his 
companions struck up a rollicking ditty he 
made a valorous attempt to join in the chorus. 

“ Why, the lad’s doing finely,” cried Lap- 
lash. Sink me, Dollier, but Pll not consent 
to part with him.” 

“ If he’s to be one of us,” said Le Casson, 
he must look less like a Puritanical psalm- 
singer.” 

’Tis easily done,” declared Laplash. 

He walked unsteadily to the rear of the 
cabin, where he Tumbled for several minutes 
beneath the sail-cloth. He returned with a 
richly-laced, dove-colored coat of soft, beauti- 
ful material, and a sash of dark-blue silk ; and 
when Rufus had not unwillingly doffed his 
sombre cloak and arrayed himself in the bor- 


With Puritan and Pequot 131 


rowed finery, and had perched Laplash’s 
plumed and buckled hat on his tawny-brown 
locks, the transformation was so complete 
that even Carver Jennicom would scarcely 
have recognized him. 

“ Parbleu ! he has the distinguished air,’’ 
cried Le Casson. 

“ Why, look you ! he’s the living image of 
my young lord Carstairs, of Heron Court in 
Hampshire,” vowed Laplash. “ To our new 
comrade, Dollier ! Come, you shall sup with 
us, lad ! ” 


CHAPTER X 


IN WHICH CAPTAIN STANDISH AND HIS MUSKET- 
EEKS PLAY THE LEADING PART 

Alongside the Plymouth trail the sentry, 
overcome by drowsiness, lay snoring on his 
back in a patch of fern, as dead to the world 
as those whom he was supposed to be guard- 
ing. Eastward the day came on apace, but 
the sun, as if loth to approach that spot of 
bloody memory, was a long time in reaching 
the ruined cabin. At length the golden 
beams slanted between the tree-trunks, turn- 
ing the dewdrops to diamonds where they 
touched the grass, and lingering on the hud- 
dled forms around the cold ashes of the fire. 
Streaming through a crevice of the logs, the 
warm light bathed the heavy sleepers within. 
Rufus stirred, blinked at the gaping roof 
above him, and was awake. 

For the first time in his life the lad’s head 
ached, throbbed with dull pain. He remained 
quiet, his brain befuddled, trying to bring 
reason out of chaos ; and gradually, bit by 

132 


with Puritan and Pequot 133 

bit, he recalled the events of the previous 
night. He was on the outer side of the 
spruce-boughs, and raising himself on one 
elbow he saw three motionless forms to the 
right of him. He sank back again, and lay 
wrestling with his troubled spirit, shame and 
remorse struggling weakly to throw off the 
spell that had been so tightly woven about 
him, until a wheezing, rattling yawn broke 
the stillness. He of the red beard was on his 
feet, his greenish eyes searching the interior 
of the cabin. 

“ Hist ! comrades, there’s something wrong,” 
he exclaimed hoarsely. 

The other two instantly awoke and sat up, 
their senses as keenly on the alert as if they 
had not slept at all. 

“Why, how’s this?” Laplash demanded 
angrily. “ The sentry should have roused us 
at dawn. What are you staring at, Barbe 
Rouge ? ” 

“ Parbleu ! dost see a ghost ? ” cried Le Cas- 
son. “ Speak, fellow ! ” 

“T’other lad?” gasped Barbe Rogue. 
“ Where is he ? ” 

Where indeed ? Humfrey was gone — it 


134 With Puritan and Pequot 

needed but a glance to tell Rufus that. La- 
plash and Le Casson sprang erect, and the for- 
mer, as he reached for his pistols, gave a lusty 
call that brought the men outside to their feet 
in ludicrous haste and confusion. 

“ WeVe betrayed ! Barbe Rouge screamed 
shrilly. “ Look ! what moves yonder ? I 
caught a flash of metal in the coppice. And 

there’s a headpiece parting the leaves ” 

I see it,” broke in Le Casson. “ Morbleu ! 
the enemy are upon us, Vaylmer.” 

The words had no sooner left his lips than 
the border of the forest became alive with 
armed men in leather and steel. The thick- 
ets disgorged them by twos and threes, very 
nearly a score in all. With firelocks at shoul- 
der they advanced a few paces, and their 
leader, a large and handsome man of military 
bearing, called for instant surrender. 

“ Tis Captain Standish and his musket- 
eers ! ” sang out Barbe Rouge, in accents of 
fright and dismay. 

That the fellow should have recognized the 
veteran soldier did not at the moment occur 
to Rufus as being strange. Dazed and startled 
by the sudden attack, by the deafening uproar 



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With Puritan and Pequot 135 

that immediately followed the futile demand 
for surrender, he stood watching the thrilling 
drama that whirled its rapid course before his 
eyes. 

The sailors, raving like wild beasts, stooped 
to grab the loaded weapons that had been 
lying alongside of them while they slept. 
Two fired wildly at the musketeers, who re- 
plied with a single shot as they made a dash 
to come to close quarters. Laplash discharged 
his pistol, and a Plymouth man reeled and 
fell. Several pieces roared thunderously, and 
the pungent, blue powder-smoke, hanging in 
the still air, settled and spread over the scene 
like a pall. Into it plunged Laplash, with 
Barbe Rouge clamoring at his heels. Le Cas- 
son leaped after them, but not until he had 
spun Rufus half-round and thrust a firelock 
into his hands. 

You^re bound to fight for us,” he cried. 

Remember that.” 

The weapon slipped from the lad^s nerve- 
less grasp. He never stirred, though the 
musket-balls hissed right and left of him. 
He felt an eager desire to escape, to get away 
and hide himself in the depths of the forest. 


136 With Puritan and Pequot 


but his limbs, as if weighted with lead, re- 
fused to obey his will. 

‘‘ Humfrey is to blame for this,” he mut- 
tered through clenched teeth. 

Less than a minute had elapsed since the 
unexpected appearance of the Puritan sol- 
diers, who had little dreamed of meeting with 
such a stubborn resistance. On the dewy 
sward, around the trampled ashes of the camp- 
fire, the fighting drew quickly to a finish. 
The crash of muskets had ceased, for the com- 
batants were now engaged hand to hand. 
Very dimly, like black shadows that flashed 
and receded, they loomed amid the smoke, 
crouching and striking, and yelling. The tu- 
mult subsided a little, and appeals for quarter 
were heard. Captain Standish shouted rapid 
commands. 

“ All’s lost ! ” cried Laplash, his voice ring- 
ing loudly. “ To the woods ! ” 

A bearded sailor, dripping blood from a 
slash on the elbow, bounded over the thresh- 
old of the cabin, and scrambling up the rear 
wall of logs with the agility of a cat, he pulled 
himself through a shutterless window and 
vanished. Close behind him, and doubtless 


With Puritan and Pequot 137 

with similar intent, Barbe Rouge groped, 
empty-handed, from the bluish haze, and ran 
blindly into Rufus. They fell together, and 
scrambled as quickly to their feet. 

Out of the way, you ! ’’ snarled the man. 

The nasal intonation of the words, the sav- 
age glare that accompanied them and showed 
the whites of the eyes, flashed a startling and 
hitherto-unsuspected revelation to the lad’s 
mind. At once, in spite of the red beard and 
crooked nose, he knew Barbe Rogue for what 
he was. 

Pybus Foulfoot ! ” he cried in astonish- 
ment. 

“ Ay, Pybus Foulfoot,” echoed the ruffian, 
as he whipped a short-bladed knife from his 
belt. I’ve a score to settle, young master. 
’Tis worth risking freedom to make an end 
of Carver Jennicom’s whelp.” 

He aimed a furious, deadly blow, and it 
was more by chance than skill that Rufus, 
flinging up his right arm, caught the descend- 
ing wrist and checked the weapon’s point 
within an inch of his face. Barbe Rogue 
fastened on the lad with his other hand, and 
for a moment, neither losing his grip, they 


138 With Puritan and Pequot 


swayed and struggled, shuffling over the floor. 
Then there was a rush of footsteps, a noise of 
shouting. The knife was knocked from the 
rufflan’s Angers and sent spinning across the 
cabin, and the next instant he was lying on 
his back with three musketeers flghting hard 
to keep him there. 

“ Don’t let him break away ! ” exclaimed 
Rufus. “ Tis Pybus Foulfoot, who’s wanted 
at Plymouth.” 

“ Why, so it is ! ” cried Captain Standish, 
just then arriving on the scene. “ Faith ! 
here’s a haul I didn’t look for. Watch sharp, 
my good fellows — the rogue is as slippery as 
an eel.” With that he turned to Rufus. “ Art 
hurt. Master Jennicom ? ” he inquired. “ No ? 
’Tis more than some of your comrades can say.” 

The lad was tongue-tied, struck dumb with 
confusion. Picking up Vaylmer Laplash’s 
plumed hat from the floor, he clapped it on 
his head with a half-deflant gesture. His 
eyes dropped before the steady, displeased 
scrutiny of the old soldier, whose mouth 
twitched under his grizzled moustache, where 
lurked the grim suspicion of a smile. 

Ah ! here you are, Rufus,” exclaimed Hum- 


with Puritan and Pequot 139 

frey Brewster, pushing to the spot. And 
safe and sound, too. I hoped you were lying 
low while the bullets were flying. Twas the 
last thing we expected, such a stubborn show 

of resistance, else we had ” 

He stepped hurriedly back in sorrowful 
consternation, for Rufus, his face livid with 
passion, had flown at him with clenched flsts. 
Captain Standish threw himself timely be- 
tween the two. 

This is shameful,^’ he cried, in a stern 
voice. “ A most wanton assault ! Must I 
clap you in irons. Master Jennicom, or will 
you keep the peace V 

He betrayed my friends,” Rufus said 
flercely, glaring at Humfrey. 

Friends, indeed ! Misguided lad, d’you 
wish to bring Carver Jennicom^s gray hairs 
down in sorrow to the grave ? ” 

Twas for your own good,” Humfrey pro- 
tested sadly. You would have gone off with 
those lawless freebooters, had I not carried 
word to Plymouth. They're a pack of 
knaves, Rufus.” 

Knave yourself,” retorted Rufus. “ I've 
done with you, Humfrey.” 


140 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Master Jennicom is in no mind to see 
reason,” said Captain Standish. “ Leave him 
alone, till he comes to his senses.” 

The Captain was quite right. Rufus could 
not have told why he so bitterly resented 
Humfrey’s action, for he knew in his own 
heart that his late companions were no more 
than splendid rogues, and that he was well 
out of their clutches. But they, and their al- 
luring pictures of a wider life, still held a 
measure of fascination for him. Planting 
himself against an upright post, with his 
hands thrust into the folds of his sash, he 
gazed about him with a sullen air of bravado. 
His first discovery — and it caused him genu- 
ine satisfaction — was that both Vaylmer La- 
plash and Dollier Le Casson had made good 
their escape. 

“ Shall we follow up the fugitives, sir ? ” 
inquired a musketeer of his leader. “ They’ll 
strike for the coast, where they’ve certainly 
got a vessel waiting.” 

“ Let them go,” replied Captain Standish. 
“ They’ve had a lesson, and ’twill be a good 
riddance if they get clean away. We’ve quite 
enough on our hands as it is. There has been 


With Puritan and Pequot 141 

grievous bloodshed/’ he added. “ I trust 
you’ve made no error of judgment, Master 
Brewster.” 

‘‘ None, sir, I’m convinced,” declared Hum- 
frey. 

He removed the sail-cloth from the bales of 
goods, which, done up in portable shape, 
proved on brief examination to contain a large 
quantity of powder and ball, cases of flint- 
locks, and a number of casks. 

“ The scrubby scoundrels ! ” cried Captain 
Standish. “ They were bound inland to trade 
with the redskins. Why, there’s enough stuff 
here to have turned half a tribe into howling 
fiends and armed them for the war-path. 
’Tis by God’s mercy so great a peril to the 
colony hath been averted.” 

His voice husky with indignation, he 
singled out eight of his men by name, who 
were to start with him at once for Plymouth. 
The rest he instructed to follow as soon as 
they had buried the dead, bearing the con- 
fiscated goods and carrying their wounded 
comrades on litters. 

‘‘Art ready?” he inquired, turning to 
Rufus. 


142 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ May I have my own coat and hat, sir?’^ 
the lad pleaded reluctantly. 

“Nay, you shall go as you are, arrayed in 
all your glory,” vowed the Captain, with a 
gruff laugh. “ Your spirit needs chastening, 
Master Jennicom. The town folk shall see 
what a sparking young swashbuckler you’ve 
become during your absence.” 

“ As you please, sir,” Rufus assented jaunt- 
ily. “ There’s naught to be ashamed of.” 

“ You’ve got the letter safe ? ” Humfrey 
ventured to ask him, in a low tone. 

“ That’s my concern — and Governor Brad- 
ford’s,” was the curt reply that stung Hum- 
frey ’s faithful heart. 

A drummer was of the party — military pre- 
cedents were rigidly observed in the New 
England colonies — and fetching his instru- 
ment and sticks from behind a tree, he beat a 
few muffled taps. The chosen number quickly 
formed and marched away from the camp in 
the direction of the Plymouth trail, Rufus and 
Humfrey in front with Captain Standish, and 
the eight musketeers bringing up the rear 
with the prisoners. Barbe Rouge cast longing 
glances at the dense forest right and left, and 


With Puritan and Pequot 143 

his lagging gait had frequently to be hastened 
by the application of a firelock's butt. There 
was fear as well as smouldering rage in the 
depths of his gray-green eyes, for he dreaded 
above all things the return to the settlement 
whence two years before, as Pybus Foulfoot, 
the Governor's bond-servant, he had fled after 
being detected in the commission of a crime 
by Carver Jennicom and his son. That had 
been on a Sunday, he remembered, and 
strangely enough it was the first day of the 
week that now beheld him going back to meet 
his punishment. 


CHAPTER XI 


IN WHICH THE STORM BREAKS 

The majority of the good people of Ply- 
mouth, waking up on that fair Sabbath morn- 
ing in July with their thoughts properly at- 
tuned to the sober and religious duties of the 
day, were speedily thrown into a worldly- 
minded flutter by more or less garbled reports 
— had from those who were earlier astir, of 
Humfrey Brewster’s arrival just before dawn 
and the immediate despatch to the wilderness 
of a column of musketeers under Captain 
Standish, who had happened to be staying 
that night at a friend’s house within the 
town. 

One account, readily believed, was to the 
effect that the crew of a buccaneering vessel, 
lying some miles up the bay, had captured 
Rufus Jennicom and were now marching to 
attack the settlement. The true version, as it 
gradually became known, was almost as excit- 
ing, and quite eclipsed in public interest an 
event of so recent occurrence as the previous 

144 


With Puritan and Pequot 145' 

evening ; the same being the unexpected re- 
turn of the Marygold, which, having taken 
her distinguished passengers as far south as 
New Amsterdam and then sailed north again 
to revisit Boston, had in passing touched at 
Plymouth to repair sundry damage suffered in 
a storm. 

The ship swung at anchor close off shore, a 
Sunday calm pervading her deck, but the 
vicinity of the harbor was deserted, and 
scarcely a soul was visible along the length 
and breadth of the street that mounted up- 
ward from the water^s edge. At sunrise you 
would have found them mostly, men, women, 
and children, standing in groups by the north- 
western border of the town, watching the dark 
mouth of the trail that had swallowed Captain 
Standish and his party and by which they 
were expected to return. 

“ Something crashed just now,” exclaimed 
old Dugald Fisher, putting a hand to his ear. 
“ I’m thinking it might have been the report 
of a musket. Mayhap they’re fighting 
near by.” 

I heard it, Dugald,” said his wife. ’Twas 
a dead limb falling.” 


146 With Puritan and Pequot 


“ Woman, you’re wrong,” he told her scorn- 
fully. “ D’you no ken the sound of fire- 
arms ? ” 

“ When the soldiers come we’ll see them, 
and not before,” wisely observed Jeremy 
Quills ; and with that, finding hunger stronger 
than curiosity, he hobbled off to his untasted 
breakfast. 

Others presently followed his example, and 
as the day wore on and the hour of morning 
service approached, force of habit — or possibly 
fear of consequences — drew many persons to 
the town square, which was the customary 
place of assemblage. They loitered in a body 
around the four pieces of cannon, now gaping 
along the cross-street, now up to the sentries 
pacing the flat roof of the fort, the while freely 
expressing the wish that Captain Standish 
and his musketeers might arrive before the 
time set for prayer and preaching. 

A restless swarm of dull-colored, steeple- 
crowned hats, with here and there a gleam of 
white coif or ruff, met the eye from the Gov- 
ernor’s residence on the corner. Among the 
rose-bushes in the prim, tiny little garden 
sauntered Sir Lanslott Charmion and Mistress 


With Puritan and Pequot 147 

Annis, who had come ashore after breakfast 
for the purpose of attending church, as well 
as to inquire into the report that had reached 
them on board ship. In the doorway stood 
the kindly magistrate and Carver Jennicom. 
The latter, summoned hence an hour ago, had 
learned what little there was to know. It was 
enough, however, to account for the look of 
strained anxiety his rugged features bore. The 
presence of the baronet and his daughter — 
whose return to Plymouth he had not foreseen 
when he summoned Rufus from Boston — was 
overshadowed by the far greater trouble that 
preyed on his mind. 

We all have our crosses to bear,” Governor 
Bradford was saying, as he clapped a friendly 
hand on the elder man^s shoulder. 

And mine is a heavy one, sir.” 

You take it too hard, Jennicom. I fear 
Pve told you more than was wise.” 

“ Nay, Tis best in the end. You know the 
hopes IVe built on Rufus — how I’ve guided 
him in the only way, that he might grow up 
to be a pillar of the church and colony. And 
now — and now — why, the words scorch my 
very tongue, sir. To think that he should 


148 With Puritan and Pequot 


welcome the advances of such wicked men, 
consort with ruffians of desperate venture ” 

‘‘ Your questions probed me too deeply, Jen- 
nicom. If I repeated so much, understand 
that I had it in confidence from Master Brews- 
ter, who urged the same as a reason for taking 
prompt steps to rescue your son.’^ 

But his no more than truth, sir,” replied 
Jennicom. 

The Governor, at a loss for words, cleared 
his throat. 

I’m puzzled by the lad’s story,” he con- 
tinued after a pause. If these men are in- 
deed freebooters — and there may be some room 
for doubt — ’twould seem they’re led by two 
who might be better engaged. The one, Dol- 
lier Le Casson, I’ve some knowledge of by 
repute. The other is a young Englishman, 
Vaylmer Laplash by name.” 

“Laplash?” echoed Jennicom, drawing a 
quick, sharp breath. 

The baronet and his daughter stopped sud- 
denly among the rose-bushes. 

^‘Father, you heard?” Annis questioned 
sharply. 

Sir Lanslott looked down into the girl’s 


With Puritan and Pequot 149 

lovely face ; her eyes met his steadily, without 
a flutter. 

Ay, my child, I heard,” he answered 
gravely. 

They moved olf to the far end of the gar- 
den, where they might hold converse with no 
fear of a listener. 

Twill all come right,” said the Governor, 
reassuringly. “ Reserve your judgment, and 
remember that Rufus is young. There’s good 
blood in him, Jennicom.” 

Or bad,” muttered the old Puritan to him- 
self “ Ay, or bad,” he repeated. 

Time was passing. Unverifled rumors, read- 
ily accepted for the moment, frequently sent 
an expectant murmur through the close, sway- 
ing ranks of the people. The minister ar- 
rived, garbed in his robes of office, and when 
a stalwart drummer came soon afterward from 
the fort, preparations began at once for the 
usual ceremony of marching to church in 
military array. 

Governor Bradford opened his gate and 
stepped forth, followed by his guests. The 
men, shouldering musket or flrelock, formed 
in line three abreast. The chief magistrate 


150 With Puritan and Pequot 


moved to his place in the rear, flanked on the 
right by the preacher, and on the left, in the 
absence of Captain Standish, by a sub-officer 
of the garrison wearing side-arms and carry- 
ing a cane. 

The drummer, who had been sounding a 
low, tremulous tattoo, ceased for a moment, 
waiting the signal to strike up the quick-step. 
And in the brief silence, from some distance 
away, a lively, inspiriting rat-a-tat-tat 
swelled and vibrated on the morning air. It 
was the beat of another drum. The absent 
soldiers were coming at last. 

“ You’ll not be holding your flock,” the 
Governor told the divine. 

‘‘Nay, sir, they’re on the point of start- 
ing. But I’m truly distressed to per- 
ceive, on the Sabbath day, such a secular 
spirit ” 

“ The service must be postponed for the 
present — ’tis unavoidable,” interrupted the 
Governor. 

He nodded to the officer, who quickly gave 
the command to break ranks and disperse. 
The Governor, with Jennicom on one side of 
him and Sir Lanslott and his daughter on the 


With Puritan and Pequot 151 

other, w^aited with an air of authority in 
front of his house. 

'' There they are I ” Now they’re com- 
ing ! ” eager voices exclaimed. 

Keeping step to the beat of the drum, 
flanked and rear-guarded by a noisy, inquisi- 
tive throng, the little detachment marched 
very soon into the square ; first Captain 
Standish, then Rufus and Humfrey on either 
side of the drummer, and behind them the 
grim, leather-clad musketeers escorting the 
prisoners, who, with their scowling faces and 
matted beards, their wide, flapping trowsers 
and queer head-covering, were the observed 
of all. The low, excited murmur swelled to 
a louder strain, broke into mocking laughter 
and wondering exclamations, when Rufus was 
recognized for the first time. 

Look at Master Jennicom in his brave 
finery ! ” cried Jeremy Quills, who had by no 
means forgotten the grudge he owed the lad. 
'' Was ever such a pretty gamecock seen in 
Plymouth, neighbors ? ” 

Why, ’tis the same young stripling we’re 
so deeply indebted to,” declared Sir Lanslott. 
‘‘ Zounds! I’d hardly have known him again.” 


152 With Puritan and Pequot 


“ How handsome he is ! — not a bit like a 
• a Puritan/’ said Annis. And what an air 
his fine clothes give him ! ” 

The drum-taps ceased, and the head of the 
column halted opposite to the Governor’s 
gateway. Rufus, seeing at a glance who 
stood there, was suddenly shamestruck and 
wished that the ground might open and 
swallow him ; a fiery blush spread over each 
cheek and mounted to the roots of his hair. 
As quickly the weakness passed. Defiantly, 
with curling lip, he straightened every inch 
of his stature, showing the perfect and comely 
fit of the laced coat. For an instant he 
coolly returned the scrutiny of the little 
group, then doffed his plumed hat most grace- 
fully to Sir Lanslott and his daughter, bowed 
to Governor Bradford, and advanced toward 
his father with outstretched hand. 

Hast no greeting for me? ” he asked. 
Carver Jennicom’s features, as hard and 
cold as iron, gave no index to his inward 
emotions — to the paternal yearning and 
tenderness he was stifling for the sake of 
what he believed to be his Christian 
duty. 


With Puritan and Pequot 153 

“ Before you clasp hand of mine/’ he cried 
sternly, off with that frippery, and beg for- 
giveness for your sins.” 

‘^Foolish I may have been,” Rufus an- 
swered haughtily, but I’ve done no wrong.” 

No wrong? You dare to tell me that? — 
you who’ve beenYreading the path that leads 
to perdition.” 

“ Jennicom ! Jennicom ! ” expostulated the 
Governor. 

This unpleasant scene, which was witnessed 
and overheard by many of those who were 
pressing closely on three sides, happily went 
no further ; for Captain Standish, stepping 
into the breach and addressing the Governor 
in tones loud enough for the public ear, made 
a brief report of the expedition. 

We’ve had three men disabled by musket- 
shots,” he concluded, mentioning the names 
of the wounded, but on the whole the result 
is most satisfactory, a pernicious and harmful 
trading-venture having been nipped in the 
bud. The leaders, though they escaped, will 
surely lose no time in putting to sea. As for 
the prisoners, you’ll be pleased to know, sir, 
that among them is none other than your 


154 With Puritan and Pequot 


former bond-servant, Pybus Foulfoot. You’ll 

observe him yonder ” 

Pybus Foulfoot ! ” the Governor exclaimed 
in surprise. “ Ay, that’s the rogue, right 
enough, though he’s much altered by a broken 
nose and a growth of beard. At last accounts 
he was in captivity at Port Royal — why, 
Jennicom, what ails you ? Art ill? ” 

“ ’Tis nothing, sir — nothing,” Jennicom an- 
swered him with an effort. 

The bronze hue crept back to his cheeks, 
which had suddenly paled. His expression 
was softer, and his lips moved inaudibly, as 
he looked toward Rufus. 

There was a stir among the prisoners, one 
of whom begged for a few words with the 
worshipful magistrate. The request was 
granted, and the man — it was Pharaoh Flin- 
ton — was brought forward, out of earshot of 
his scowling comrades. 

What is it, fellow ? ” questioned Governor 
Bradford. 

“ Give me my freedom,” was the bold re- 
sponse, “ and I’ll tell you what were the real 
designs of my leaders in these parts, other 
than to barter with the redskins,” 


With Puritan and Pequot 155 

“ Is there anything else you wish ? ” ex- 
claimed the Governor. “ Your freedom, in- 
deed ! And for some tale concocted on the 
spur of the moment. Begone to your place.^^ 

“ Sir, it might be worth while began 

Sir Lanslott Charmion, whose countenance 
wore a startled, troubled look. He hesitated 
and stopped. 

“ Nay, ’tis a shallow trick on the face of it,’’ 
vowed the Governor. “ I’ll give these rogues 
a hearing to-morrow,” he added, and mean- 
while let them be kept in safe custody. Cap- 
tain Standish, do you remain, if you please.” 

The drum tapped, and the musketeers 
marched off with the captured freebooters, 
followed by the larger part of the assemblage. 
Rufus gazed after them for a moment, and 
then, drawing a letter from the folds of his 
tasselled sash, he presented it to Governor 
Bradford. 

“ I’ve the honor to bring you this, sir,” he 
stated, “ from Governor Vane of Boston. I 
was given to understand that it was urgent.” 

'' I thank you, my boy,” the magistrate re- 
plied. “ Pray come indoors, out of the heat 
of the sun.” 


156 With Puritan and Pequot 

The invitation included the whole of the 
little party, and they followed to a sitting- 
room on the ground floor of the house, where, 
with a word of apology, the Governor broke 
the seal of the letter and ran his eye down 
the contents. 

That troublesome fellow Williams again, 
with his seditious conduct,’’ he said wearily. 
“ This time he’s gone too far, and a warrant is 
hanging over his head. I’m asked to appre- 
hend him if he shows himself in or near 
Plymouth.” 

Rufus and Humfrey exchanged signiflcant 
glances. What had puzzled them before was 
no longer a mystery. It was for their own 
sakes, out of his flne unselflshness and sense 
of honor, that Roger Williams had sent them 
forth into the darkness and peril of the night. 
He would not permit them to remain in his 
camp, lest seemingly through his and their 
connivance the delivery of the letter should 
be retarded ; its ominous purport to himself 
he had of course divined. 

“ My lads,” the Governor went on, “ did 
you by any chance meet this perverse minis- 
ter of Salem during your journey ? ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 157 

There was no reply. The question was sus- 
piciously repeated, and the confused young 
faces flushed crimson. 

“ I’ve no answer to make,” declared Rufus, 
in a low voice. 

Nor I,” added Humfrey. 

You’ve seen him, then — ay, so much is 
clear,” said the Governor. But when and 
where ? ” 

Both Rufus and Humfrey were silent. Al- 
though the interrogation had absolved them 
from their promise, they were nevertheless de- 
termined to shield the friend who had come 
to their rescue in a time of desperate 
need. 

Speak ! ” exclaimed the Governor, sharply. 

You cannot be blind to the consequences if 
you refuse.” 

Such wickedness and obstinacy exceed be- 
lief,” cried Carver Jennicom. Rufus, I 
command you ” 

Nay, nay, my good Master Jennicom,” 
put in Captain Standish. “ Gentler measures 
first, I entreat you. These brave lads — whose 
courage and craft under most trying circum- 
stances have but recently come to my knowl- 


158 With Puritan and Pequot 


edge — will surely not persist in their folly. 
Give them time for consideration.’’ 

He related to the little audience the out- 
witting of the two roving Pequots, as he had 
heard it from Humfrey that morning during 
the march to Plymouth. Governor Bradford 
listened with a troubled countenance, for the 
shadow of a Pequot rising had loomed larger 
of late. The narrative evoked unstinted praise 
and admiration from Sir Lanslott Charmion, 
and even won a nieed of the same from Carver 
Jennicom. Annis flashed a look at Rufus 
that made his heart flutter strangely, and in 
the girl’s lovely eyes he fancied he read an 
entreaty to hold Arm. 

“ Now, my lads, be reasonable,” continued 
the bluff old soldier. “ The matter, as you 
are aware, concerns the sacred upholding of 
the law. By virtue of the King’s authority 
you’re bound to speak. Come, tell us where 
Roger Williams may be found.” 

‘‘ You must discover that for yourself,” Rufus 
said, doggedly. “ I’ll not betray a friend.” 

And you. Master Brewster? Reflect.” 

My answer is the same,” Humfrey replied 
without hesitation. 


With Puritan and Pequot 159 

Sink me, but I could wish his majesty 
Charles Stuart had a hundred thousand such 
loyal supporters,” Sir Lanslott muttered un- 
der his breath. 

Jennicom lifted up his hands in horror. 
The Governor, with a wrathful exclamation, 
struck his fist on the table just as a servant 
entered. He made an inaudible communica- 
tion to his master and withdrew, to usher 
into the room the next moment a hard-fea- 
tured, lank-haired man, booted and spurred 
and carrying a brace of pistols, whose weary, 
travel-stained appearance indicated that he 
had ridden long and far. 

Elias Blades ! ” gasped Humfrey. 

'' Now for it,” Rufus told himself. He 
whitened to the lips, for he had little doubt 
as to what was coming. YouVe nothing to 
do with this — remember,” he whispered 
quickly to Humfrey. 

Master Blades, constable of Boston, glanced 
at the lads with grim and ominous satisfac- 
tion, then drew from his doublet a sealed 
despatch and handed it to the Governor. 

May I attend while you read it, sir?” he 
asked. 


i6o With Puritan and Pequot 

The Governor nodded absently as he broke 
the wax and opened the paper. For fully a 
minute after he had mastered the closely- 
written contents he sat staring into vacancy, 
his lips compressed and his brow fur- 
rowed. 

“ There are some present who will need to 
fortify themselves with courage,’^ he said, in 
a very grave voice. I have bad news. It 
appears that last Thursday night, after a sedi- 
tious meeting held by Roger Williams at the 
house of one Jarvis Story in Boston, some 
person or persons did wickedly mutilate the 
English standard that hung over the gateway 
of Governor Vane’s residence. And you, my 
lads, are suspected of — nay, are charged with 
— that monstrous offense. What have you to 
say for yourselves ? ” 

Humfrey is innocent,” Rufus answered, 
his fingers tightening on the back of the chair 
by which he stood. 

“ And you, my boy ? ” 

“ I should like to know the grounds of the 
accusation, sir.” 

I’ve no statement of that as yet,” replied 
the Governor. 


With Puritan and Pequot i6i 


I can tell you, sir,’’ spoke up Elias Blades. 
“ There’s various evidence, but the most im- 
portant is a knife, with the initials R. J. cut 
on the haft, that was picked up just inside 
the Governor’s gate. At least two persons 
have sworn to its ownership.” 

For a few seconds the silence was tense and 
breathless. 

The knife is mine,” declared Rufus, con- 
trolling his voice by a hard effort. I 
dropped it in the garden. It was I — and I 
alone — who cut the cross of St. George from 
the Governor’s standard. I repeat that Hum- 
frey had nothing to do with the affair. He 
would have prevented it, had he known what 
I meant to do.” 

There were two lads assaulted Mr. Vane’s 
servant,” interposed Elias Blades. 

Humfrey tried to speak, but choked with 
emotion. Governor Bradford sighed deeply, 
and Carver Jennicom, groaning aloud, covered 
his face with his roughened hands. 

“ Father, have you no influence ? ” Annis 
exclaimed appealingly. 

“ I wish I had,” replied Sir Lanslott. 

’Twas a piece of folly, no more. Young 


i 62 With Puritan and Pequot 


blood runs hot — there’s always some excuse 
for it.” 

“ Not in New England, sir,” Captain Stand- 
ish said gravely. 

The baronet stepped over to Rufus. Cheer 
up,” he whispered, “ I’ll help you if I can. 
If you get out of this scrape, and I’m still 
in the Colonies, I’ll take you with me 
to Virginia, or even to England. You 
merit a wider career than Plymouth can 
offer.” 

He moved away before Rufus could reply, 
and the Governor hastily brought the dis- 
tressing scene to a close. 

In your case, Master Brewster,” he said, 
“ I’ll take the responsibility of detaining you 
for the present in my own house ; the ques- 
tion of your complicity in this serious charge 
must be dealt with later. As for you, my 
boy,” addressing the self-confessed culprit, 
“ I’ve no alternative — painful though it is to 
me — but to commit you to jail at the request 
of the Boston magistrates, there to await the 
promised arrival of depositions and a warrant. 
Directly they come ’twill be my duty to hand 
you over to the constable for removal to Bos- 


With Puritan and Pequot 163 

ton His voice faltered and broke. 

Captain Standish, will you take the pris- 
oner in charge/^ he added. 


CHAPTER XII 


IN WHICH there’s A GENERAL JAIL- 
DELIVERY 

Toward evening, weary of treading the hard 
earthen floor that was beginning to show a 
faint impression of his footsteps from wall to 
wall, Rufus stepped to the window and 
pressed his fevered cheeks against the iron 
bars. The scene without was not of a cheer- 
ful nature. A sour-visaged musketeer, his 
firelock shouldered at an angle, was pacing up 
and down before the entrance to the jail. 
The atmosphere was close and heavy, with 
never a sign of a breeze stirring. A thin, 
warm drizzle of rain silted from the low- 
drooping, leaden skies, and a fine mist had 
rolled in from the sea, softening the harsh, 
crude outlines of the scattered houses, and 
causing the distant line of the forest to melt 
imperceptively into the horizon. 

The day was Wednesday, and since the 
previous Sunday Rufus had been in solitary 
confinement, left to the companionship of his 

164 


With Puritan and Pequot 165' 

bitter thoughts. He had received no message 
from his father, none from Sir Lanslott 
Charmion or from Humfrey. 

There was hardly a youth in the two colo- 
nies, who, plunged in a like sea of trouble and 
with such gloomy prospects hanging over his 
head, but would have been utterly crushed, 
reduced to the very dregs of humiliation and 
despair. Not so, however, with Rufus Jenni- 
com. Though he suffered keenly, his spirit 
was unbroken. 

I’ll show them,” he vowed, with a stub- 
born laugh. “ Come what may. I’ll bear it 
without a murmur. And when they’ve satis- 
fied their cruel laws, and flung the jail-doors 
open, that’s the last these tyrannical New 
England colonies will ever see of me. The 
world is wide, and soldiering shall be my 
trade. I was cut out for that, I believe. 
There can be upping like it for a man of 
energy. I’ll go to the Virginias or Maryland, 
and some day, perhaps, I may see the wonder- 
ful places of Europe that Vaylmer Laplash 
and Captain Le Casson told me of.” 

From the dreary perspective of roofs and 
chimneys, reeking with the mist and rain, 


i66 With Puritan and Pequot 

from the glamour of dreams that had veiled 
this unlovely aspect, he turned to the sordid 
reality of his cell. Terrifying visions rose up 
before him — of the pillory and the whipping- 
post, of the captive shut in for months and 
years from God’s beautiful eartli and the 
bright sunshine, of the trembling felon led 
forth to lose ears or hand. His was a flagrant 
misdemeanor, he knew, and forbade all hope 
of influential aid, either from Sir Lanslott 
Charniion or from other sources. 

“ There is no one who cares,” he cried 
aloud. “ Not one ! ” 

He thought of his father, lying ill and 
broken-hearted, remembered the patient, nur- 
turing guidance he had received in childhood. 
That he was an adopted son had never been 
suggested to Rufus by the faintest breath or 
innuendo. His mood softened a little as his 
fancies strayed backward, and there was a 
lump in his throat, when the key rattled in 
the lock and the door swung open on creaking 
hinges. Entered Seth Dymett the jailer, a 
man warped and hardened by the duties of 
his office. He placed a trencher of food and 
a jug of water on the stool. 


With Puritan and Pequot 167 

I’m to tell you,” he said gruffly, “ that the 
papers in your case arrived to-day from 
Boston. You’re to set out thither in custody 
to-morrow morning.” 

To-morrow ? ” Rufus echoed. 

“ Ay, my lad, soon as sun’s up. You must 
be ready when Blades and t’other warrant- 
offlcer come for you.” 

The door closed behind the jailer, and his 
footsteps died into silence. Rufus, standing 
by the narrow window, sucked the cool, damp 
air as if he was stifling. The unconquered, 
all-defying mood was on him again, and now 
it clamored for a vent ; his fate had suddenly 
assumed larger, more dreaded proportions. 
He tugged at the iron bars until his fingers 
were bruised and the perspiration started to 
his forehead. 

’Tis no use,” he muttered fiercely. “ But 
they shall never take me to Boston. I’ll 
escape somewhere in the forest, if I get a 
chance.” 

Escape? No, it was folly to think of it. 
They would shackle his wrists and watch him 
day and night. At last he threw himself on 
the straw mattress, and lay there with his hot 


i68 With Puritan and Pequot 


face pressed against the dingy coverlet, in an 
attitude of utter dejection. 

The weather had taken a turn for the worse 
after sunset. It was a wild and stormy night 
— such a night as kept the good people of 
Plymouth indoors, thankful for roof and bed. 
The rain drizzle became a soaking downpour, 
driven in sheets by a gale that shrieked and 
howled from the east. 

Jeremy Quills, crouching by the four pieces 
of cannon in the square and sheltering himself 
and his hissing brazier as best he could, vowed 
that a watchman’s calling had never been less 
to his taste. In no better spirits or comfort 
were the two musketeers — the guard had been 
doubled — who were on duty at the jail. The 
rain blew into their faces, streamed from 
cloaks and hats, and defied the oiled rags that 
protected the pans of their firelocks. Round 
and round the building they paced monoto- 
nously in the squashing mire, approaching each 
other, passing with a word or two, and going 
on to meet again with unfailing regularity. 

One by one, as the night ran its slow course, 
the yellow streaks that glowed here and there 
at wide intervals were snuffed out. By ten 


With Puritan and Pequot 169 

o’clock but a single light was visible, and that 
shone from a residence on the corner of the 
square, where William Bradford was doubtless 
composing his scholarly history of the Plym- 
outh Plantation. At a quarter to eleven the 
Governor’s window was as dark and cheerless 
as the others, and not many minutes later a 
group of dusky figures might have been ob- 
served — had any been about to see them — 
stealing through the town from the north. 
Now singly, now bunched together, they ad- 
vanced along the cross-street, watching and 
listening, gliding from house to house, and 
frequently stopping to hold a brief consulta- 
tion. Arrived within twenty yards of the 
open space, they halted by the angle of a pali- 
sade, their eyes fixed on a spot of ruddy fire- 
light that played athwart the dripping pieces 
of cannon. 

Yonder sits the watchman by his brazier,” 
whispered the young leader of the party. 
“ Shall we make sure of him, Dollier ? ” 

“ ’Twould be wasting time needlessly,” was 
the reply. He’ll hear nothing, nor stir from 
his post. Allons ! mon cher Vaylmer. To 
the duty that calls us ! ” 


lyo With Puritan and Pequot 


The band of freebooters — they numbered 
nine in all — now bore off to the left, avoiding 
the square entirely. A detour, carried out 
with the utmost vigilance, presently brought 
them to within a dozen yards of the rear of 
the jail. The lee side of a stack of hewn 
planks afforded a safe shelter, where they had 
not to wait long in order to learn just how the 
building was patrolled. 

The two musketeers, meeting at the front 
of the jail, paused to exchange a few words. 
Then each turned to retrace his steps, revers- 
ing the usual order ; and each, directly his 
lagging gait brought him round the corner, 
was pounced upon by four of the lurking 
rogues. Thus overmatched and taken by sur- 
prise the men had no chance from the first, 
nor could they make any outcry, since their 
wind was at once shut off by the pressure of 
bony fingers. After a short struggle they 
were dragged to the middle of the patch of 
sward, where one was thrust into the pillory 
and the other was bound to the whipping- 
post. 

'' Twas neatly done, that,” said Laplash, 
who had played a passive and guiding part. 


With Puritan and Pequot 171 

'' Will the rest be so easy ? ” asked Le Gas- 
son. 

“ Trust to me, Dollier,” was the reply. “ If 
I fail, Twill not be for lack of nerve.’' 

The captives were left in their helpless, 
speechless condition, exposed to the pouring 
rain. Two of Laplash’s party donned the 
Puritan hats and cloaks and shouldered the 
firelocks, and when he had given brief in- 
structions to these, and had disposed the re- 
mainder of his men to right and left of him, 
the young leader rapped boldly on the oaken, 
iron-clamped door of the jail. The summons 
was twice repeated, and then shuffling foot- 
steps grew audible within, while a ray of light 
flashed at a crevice. 

Who’s there ? ” demanded a gruff voice. 

What’s wanted at this hour of the night? ” 

I come from the fort, with Governor Brad- 
ford’s written authority to enter,” Laplash re- 
plied. “ A plot to rescue the prisoners is sus- 
pected, and I’m to help you take proper pre- 
cautions. Don’t keep me waiting.” 

Not so fast,” growled the jailer. Aller- 
ton, Minter, art there? Shall I open?” 

“ Ay, ay. Master Dymett, ’tis all right,” the 


172 With Puritan and Pequot 


false sentries answered together, grounding 
their weapons with a rattling thud. 

Several moments of anxious suspense fol- 
lowed. The bolts were slowly drawn, and the 
key turned in the big lock. The door swung 
half a foot on its hinges, and the burly figure 
of Seth Dymett, clad in shirt and breeches 
and holding a lanthorn, was pressed against 
the opening. A gust of wind nearly extin- 
guished the light, preventing a satisfactory 
scrutiny, as he glanced first at Laplash ; and 
then, seeing what he supposed to be the two 
musketeers standing a couple of yards off, he 
opened the door wider. 

“ Where’s the Governor’s authority ? ” he 
asked unsuspiciously. 

“ Here ! ” said Laplash, and with that, leap- 
ing across the threshold, he fastened his two 
hands on the jailer’s throat. Le Casson sprang 
forward in time to snatch the lanthorn, others 
swarmed at his heels, and in a trice the door 
was pushed shut. 

Success had crowned a bold and foolhardy 
enterprise. Outside the jail, in the rain and 
wind and darkness, the two disguised sailor- 
men paced up and down, watching and listen- 


With Puritan and Pequot 173 

ing. Inside Seth Dymett, pinned against the 
wall, offered a stubborn but futile re^istenceto 
his enemies. He was speedily bound and 
gagged, robbed of his keys, and flung upon 
the bed from which he had been so rudely 
roused. 

“ Gome,’’ said Laplash. 

He led the way with the lanthorn in one 
hand and the bunch of keys in the other. A 
hasty search was made, and the flrst two cells 
opened were quietly relocked, for their occu- 
pants, the man who had been pilloried and 
the Spaniard, were both sound asleep. In the 
next were Barbe Rouge, Pharaoh Flinton, and 
their fellow-prisoners. The flash of the lan- 
thorn instantly woke them, and they could 
scarcely be restrained from greeting their res- 
cuers in a dangerously boisterous fashion. 
One by one the four were rid of their irons, as 
fast as the keys could be found to fit, and then 
the whole party withdrew to the main pas- 
sage. 

“ We’ve forgotten to look above,” said Le 
Casson, pausing with his hand on the door. 

’Twould be most unfortunate if the alarm 
were given directly we left.” 


174 With Puritan and Pequot 


“ ril see to that,” replied Laplash. “ Twill 
take but a minute. Don’t wait — I’ll join you 
outside.” 

He had been on the point of extinguishing 
the lanthorn, but instead he thrust it under 
his cloak, letting but a thin beam dance be- 
fore him, and ascended very quickly to the 
upper floor of the jail. A room to the left 
was unfastened and empty. Inaccessible, 
until the proper key came to his hand, was 
one on the right. The lock turned harshly, 
and venturing within, the lanthorn lifted 
high, Laplash swept the ray of light until it 
rested on a youthful face, but that instant 
wakened from sleep, which he recognized 
with a start of surprise. 

“ Why ! sink me ! ’tis Master Jennicom,” 
he exclaimed. 

‘‘You here?” Rufus muttered incredu- 
lously, as he rubbed his eyes. “ How did you 
get in ? ” 

“By force, how else?” was the reply. 
“ And you can guess the motive. But ’tis no 
time for words, else I’d ask why you’ve been 
clapped in durance. The way to freedom lies 
open. The jailer and the sentries are trussed 


With Puritan and Pequot 175 

like fowls ; all Plymouth snores in bed. 
Come, you shall put to sea with us.” 

Rufus, suddenly comprehending, drew a 
long, deep breath. He shook his head. 

“ What ! you refuse to escape ? ” gasped 
Laplash. “ Canst be so mad ? ” 

“ I choose to remain,” was the dogged an- 
swer, given reluctantly. 

Further entreaty proved useless, convincing 
Laplash that the lad was not to be moved. 

‘‘Idl waste no more speech,” he cried. 

My comrades are ready to start, and the 
moments are precious as gold. I should force 
you to accompany me, as a matter of pre- 
caution,” tapping the pistol that was in his 
belt, ‘‘ but if you’re a madman you’ve none 
the less a sense of honor, else I’m woefully de- 
ceived in your face. Wilt promise to give no 
alarm after we’ve departed ? ” 

“ Right willingly.” 

“ I’ll trust you,” vowed Laplash, but I 
could wish with all my heart that you 
were ” 

He broke off, hearing his name called in a 
low voice, and with that he was gone. The 
glow of the lanthorn faded, and the receding 


176 With Puritan and Pequot 


footsteps were lost in a faint, confused mur- 
mur of sound from below, which quickly 
lapsed into silence. 

For perhaps a quarter of an hour Rufus 
waited in the darkness, sitting on the edge 
of the pallet, with his mind in a turmoil. It 
was because of Pybus Foulfoot that he had 
refused to join Laplash, and he now half- 
regretted that he had thrown awa}^ the op- 
portunity. He suddenly started to his feet. 
Could it really be true, he asked himself, that 
the way to freedom was open ? A fierce and 
irresistible desire filled his soul — he hesitated 
no longer. Groping across the room and 
down the stairs, he opened the jail door and 
stepped into the blackness and storm. 

Ah ! it was no dream — freedom was a 
delicious reality. Hatless, still wearing his 
laced coat, the lad made off, darting within 
several yards of the unseen sentries tied to 
the wooden instruments of torture. He ran 
on and on through the silence of the night, 
heedless of rain and wind, and having left 
the square behind him he finally paused for 
breath near the end of the cross-street. He 
was not far from his home, and the tempta- 


With Puritan and Pequot 177 

tion to pass it was too strong to be re- 
sisted. 

If I can’t say good-bye to my father, at 
least I’ll take a farewell look at the old 
house,” he vowed, with a lumpy feeling in his 
throat. “ And then for the forest and Roger 
Williams. He’ll surely not refuse to let me 
share his lot until I’ve a chance of getting 
away from the colonies.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


IN WHICH PYBUS FOULFOOT FINDS HIMSELF 
IN A TIGHT CORNER 

In spite of certain minor differences of 
opinion between Carver Jennicom and his 
neighbors there was hardly a man in Plym- 
outh but held that austere Puritan in the 
highest esteem and respect. On that Wednes- 
day, as on the days preceding it, a number 
of persons had called at the lonely palisaded 
house on the northern verge of the town, 
some to inquire how the patient was progress- 
ing, and some to sit for a few minutes by his 
bedside in the vain hope of rousing him from 
his despondency. Governor Bradford, no 
more successful than the others, had paid a 
brief visit during the evening and left at nine 
o’clock. An hour later Dame Tybbott and 
her nephew, who had shown unwearied atten- 
tion to the sick man, went off to their own 
home. This was by Jennicom’s express com- 
mand, and they yielded with less reluctance 

178 


With Puritan and Pequot 179 

to his desire to be alone because, whatever his 
mental state might be, his physical indisposi- 
tion was greatly improved. Persistent doses 
of a steaming-hot drink, brewed from various 
herbs according to a recipe of his own, had 
broken the fever which at first threatened to 
give him a long and dangerous siege. A 
night’s rest promised to complete the recovery 
and put him on his feet again. 

The wind squalled and blustered around 
the house, now running up the scale to a 
shrill, whistling note of fury, now dropping 
to a low, sobbing wail of distress. Jennicom 
was deaf to the storm, oblivious of his sur- 
roundings. “ Naught but boyish indiscretion, 
an eruption of hot young blood that will in 
due course consume itself and leave the lad 
tried and tempered ! ” he said half aloud, 
quoting from Governor Bradford’s well-meant 
homily on the subject of Rufus. “ Would it 
were no worse, that I could lay the words 
hopefully to store and await the day of re- 
pentance and turning ! But the Governor 
little knows how deeply the canker is rooted. 
Merciful God, must the sins of the fathers be 
irrevocably visited on the innocent children 


i8o With Puritan and Pequot 


even unto the third and fourth generations? 
Have I offended thee in that I have dared to 
defy the Eternal Law and snatch a brand 
from the burning? Nay, surely my poor 
labors must seem good in thy sight. I’ll bear 
the cross, though it utterly crush me and bow 
me to the ground ” 

His lips moved inaudibly and were still. 
For a long time he lay with nearly closed 
eyes, as one in a trance. Vision upon vision 
rose before him. He was gazing across a 
terraced lawn to a stately Elizabethan man- 
sion that reared its turrets to a peerless Hamp- 
shire sky ; was standing among nodding flow- 
ers in the garden of a tiny game-keeper’s cot- 
tage, nestled in the shadow of a deep, dark 
wood ; gun on shoulder and dog at heels, he 
was striding knee-deep amid fern and bracken, 
over the great, rolling deer-park. He heard 
a baby’s artless prattle, the light, careless 

laughter of an English But what was 

that? 

Roused from his dreams, dragged back to 
the bitterness of reality, Jennicom lifted him- 
self on one elbow. It was still ringing in his 
ears — a splitting, rending noise as of wood 


With Puritan and Pequot i8i 


and iron fiercely wrenched apart, and yet he 
was not convinced that it was anything more 
than imagination. He listened for several 
minutes, all his senses on the alert. Ah ! 
there it was again — the same harsh, tearing 
sound, and unmistakably from the floor be- 
low. Footsteps grew audible, receded and 
died away. 

The rogue was listening,” thought Jenni- 
com, to make sure that he raised no alarm. 
But what wicked design brings him hither ? ” 

Young Joshua Tybbott, after letting his 
aunt into the street, had barred the gate and 
then climbed over it. But the house door 
had unavoidably been left undone, it seeming 
unlikely that any peril could threaten the 
sick man, and some evil-minded person, hav- 
ing scaled the palisade, had entered the hum- 
ble abode that it was supposed to protect. 

So Jennicom reasoned, and as he had never 
known the meaning of cowardice, he at once 
prepared with a wrathful heart to smite the 
daring intruder. The candle had quite ex- 
pired, and there was not another one in the 
room. But the darkness was all the better 
suited to Jennicom^s purpose. The weakness 


i 82 with Puritan and Pequot 

of fever was forgotten, unfelt, as he reached 
for his clothes at the foot of the bed, and 
drew on his breeches and thick stockings. 
He rose to his feet, buttoned a cloak about 
his shoulders, and took a primed and loaded 
pistol from a shelf by the window. 

From the top of the ladder he could per- 
ceive a glimmer of light off below him, and 
hear a faint noise. He descended to the 
ground floor, the wind drowning the creak of 
the wooden rungs, and then, having gone 
cautiously forward a few paces, he saw where 
the light came from. 

An exclamation, barely stifled in time, was 
forced to his lips. The next instant he had 
flung open the shattered door of the closet, 
and was standing on the threshold of his 
jealously-guarded shrine of mysteries. 

“ Pybus Foulfoot ! ” he cried in a terrible 
voice. 

The unexpected sight of the tall, gaunt old 
Puritan, the weapon he held and the rage 
that flashed from his eyes, was too much for 
the nerves of the red-bearded man, lately 
known as Barbe Rouge, who had been sitting 
on a stool, deeply absorbed in a cumbrous 






\4 S j 


N J 


“ //Oiy, HANDS up;’ said jennicom 





With Puritan and Pequot 183 

leather-bound and brass-clamped volume, 
when thus taken by surprise. He sprang 
erect, letting the book fall to the floor with a 
crash. He reached quickly for the weapons 
at his belt, but a peep into the wide-mouthed 
muzzle of Jennicom’s pistol caused him to 
think better of his intention. 

“ Truly, sir, I meant no harm,” he whined, 
his lips twitching with fear and his eyes 
rolling till the whites showed. ‘‘ Tis ever my 
misfortune ” 

^‘You’ve broken jail?” demanded Jen- 
nicom. 

“ You need hardly ask that,” was the sullen 
reply. 

‘‘ ’Twould have been wiser to stop behind 
bolts and bars, mayhap. Out with your 
weapons — grasp them by blade and barrel, 
and put them down beside you.” 

Foulfoot, his movements intently watched, 
reluctantly placed a pistol and an ugly-look- 
ing knife on the low stool from which he had 
risen, and then obeyed the command to step 
a couple of paces to the left. 

“ Now, hands up,” said Jennicom. “ Lift a 
Anger, and Til shoot you dead,” 


184 With Puritan and Pequot 


“ If you’ll hear my explanation, An- 
thony ” 

Not that name, you dog.” 

‘‘ Master Jennicom, then.” 

“ Ay, that’s better.” 

The lanthorn, standing on the shelf with 
steel and tinder-box beside it, shone brightly 
about the cramped little closet that had boasted 
such unusual fastenings. A short bar of iron, 
taken from the fireplace, lay on the floor to 
tell how the destruction had been wrought. 
The English chest of carved oak w^as between 
the two men, and its priceless lock, like the 
one on the door, had been ruthlessly shattered. 
The contents were in confusion, and on the 
reverse of the lid, which had been turned 
back on its hinges, stood two bulky canvas 
bags. The strings of both had been cut, and 
the gleam of gold coins was visible within. 
All this Jennicom noted with one eye, as it 
were, while not for an instant did his observa- 
tion of the captive relax, or the hand that 
held the pistol waver ever so slightly. The 
fallen volume lying with pages open — his 
cherished diary — was the last thing that drew 
his attention. His nostrils quivered, his eyes 


With Puritan and Pequot 185 

flashed ; for a moment his rage was almost 
uncontrollable. Then his features settled to 
a fierce, determined expression that was far 
more dangerous than open wrath, and when 
he spoke, ending the brief pause, it was in a 
firm, cold voice that bit like an acid. 

“ What brought you here? ” he inquired. 

Importunate need, sir, as you may sup- 
pose,” Foulfoot declared. The necessities of 
a desperate, hunted man, who’s more sinned 
against than sinning. ’Twas ever thus, if 
you’ll remember. A godly life, though my 
bent was all that way, has been denied me 
from childhood. I was weak, easily led ; 
temptations beset my path. You alone 
showed me kindness ” His voice fal- 

tered. He seemed to be overcome by genuine 
emotion. 

Go on,” commanded Jennicom, with a 
glance of fiery scorn. “ Make haste and fin- 
ish your false tale.” 

I humbly protest, Master Jennicom, that 
I speak the truth. But to have done quickly, 
I’ve long wished to break away from the evil 
crew among whom my lot has been cast for 
many weeks, and to-night, when we four were 


i86 With Puritan and Pequot 

rescued from jail by a party of our mates, I 
seized the opportunity and gave my com- 
panions the slip. I came straight here to beg 
you for a small sum of money to pay my 
passage to the Virginias by some vessel, but 
finding the door unbarred, and being loth to 
rouse you at such an hour 

“ Ay, so you concluded to help yourself,” 
Jennicom interrupted, with a grim laugh. I’ll 
hear no more — you’ve only wasted breath as 
it is. Pick up that book.” 

The pistol kept in line with Foulfoot as he 
stooped for the heavy volume, which he closed 
and put on the lid of the chest. 

How far have you read ? ” demanded 
Jennicom. 

“ I’ve dipped into it far enough,” was the 
significant reply, given in an altered and ag- 
gressive voice. “ ’Twas a vast surprise to me. 
Master Jennicom, I’ll confess. I had always 
believed ” 

“ Never mind what you believed. I’m to 
understand, then, that you’re aware of my 
reasons for taking another name when I left 
England for the Low Countries and America? ” 
Ay, the child. ' The brand from the 


With Puritan and Pequot 187 

burning,’ ” and Foulfoot laughed — a low, im- 
pudent laugh that was like to have cost him 
his life then and there. Hot rage leaped to 
Jennicom’s face, and his finger trembled on 
the trigger of his weapon. 

Dog ! ” he snarled. 

Come, come. Master Bennet — nay, I mean 
Jennicom, I’m in a reasonable mood, and you 
should be in the same,” Foulfoot said hastily. 
“ Why, you’ve no cause for alarm. I know 
how to hold my tongue — you’ll not deny that. 
Look you, give me one of your bags of gold, 
let me be off* without further delay, and I’ll 
swear to be silent evermore, swear to never 
trouble you again.” 

“ Ay, as you swore in the past, each time 
I parted with money — craven that I was to do 
so ! Can I trust you now ? ” 

That you can. I’m for the Virginias, 
New Amsterdam, anywhere but New Eng- 
land — would I be mad enough to venture 
back here? ” 

Perhaps not — at least not until you’d bled 
Vaylmer Laplash to the utmost. I can read 
the very depths of your evil soul.” 

Foulfoot, unmasked by the accusation, was 


i88 With Puritan and Pequot 

struck dumb. He could not hide his con- 
fusion. 

You scoundrel, d'you suppose I’m crazy 
enough to let you go free — you who’ve been 
the curse of my existence ? ” roared Jennicom. 

Can’st think that I’d fill your pockets with 
gold and turn you loose, with the certainty 
that you’d carry your information to other 
ears ? Trust you ? Why, I’d rather put faith 
in a venomous reptile. Nay, I’m going to 
kill you.” 

Would you murder me?” gasped Foul- 
foot, white to the lips. 

“ Up with your hands ! Don’t move.” 

Spare my life, good Master Jennicom. 
I’m not fit to die.” 

“ Die you shall,” cried Jennicom, his voice 
rising to a shrill pitch of fury, “ and the law 
will hold me blameless.” 

He meant what he said. For the moment 
he was a mad fanatic — this austere, religious- 
minded man who for years had set a high ex- 
ample to the community of Plymouth. 
Weighed in the balance, judged by the 
memory of the persecution and threats he had 
endured in the past, by the crying need to 


With Puritan and Pequot 189 

safeguard the one secret of his life, the deed he 
was about to commit in cold blood seemed 
just and righteous. He felt that he was the 
chosen instrument of God. 

Let me pray,” begged Foulfoot, cunningly. 

Be quick — I’ll grant you a minute.” 

The pistol, though it shook in the lean 
brown hand that clasped it, swerved not from 
its deadly aim. Jennicom, his cheeks flushed 
and burning — for the fever was on him again 
— relentlessly counted the seconds. Ten — 

fifteen — twenty He turned his head 

slightly, listening to a great noise of shouting 
that had suddenly originated in the direction 
of the jail. And just then, wrought to desper- 
ation, Foulfoot half-crouched with a light- 
ning-like movement and as quickly thrcAV 
himself forward. There was a terrific crash 
and a spurting jet of fire, but he felt neither 
the sting of the powder in his face, nor the cut 
of the ball through his left arm, as he caught 
his would-be murderer and clung to him. 
They reeled together across the open lid of the 
chest, which snapped with their weight and 
poured out the contents of the money-bags in 
a tinkling, golden shower. 


CHAPTER XIV 


IN WHICH there’s A TRAGIC END TO A MAN- 
HUNT 

The heavy discharge of the pistol filled the 
closet with smoke, and the lanthorn, which 
had very nearly been extinguished by the 
concussion, shed but a dim and murky light 
on the struggle. They had scarcely elbow- 
room, the two desperate men, as they writhed 
and twisted in the narrow space between the 
end wall and the chest, scattering the coins 
over the floor. Jennicom, unflinching in his 
fell purpose, held with a dogged, strenuous 
grip, so that the younger man, who thought 
only of escape directly he had drawn the 
pistol fire without serious result and over- 
thrown his foe, was in little less precarious 
plight than before. In vain, though he was 
uppermost, did he exert the whole strength of 
his wiry, sinewy frame. 

Submit,” panted Jennicom. You’ll not 


With Puritan and Pequot 191 

elude me — ’tis Heaven's decree that you die in 
your sins." 

Unloose me, let me go ! " screamed Foul- 
foot. “ D'you hear? The jail delivery is dis- 
covered. Your shot has drawn them, and 
they're coming to take me." 

For the time being he had forgotten that he 
was wounded, was unconscious of the burning 
pain and the dripping blood. The noise of 
men shouting rang in his ears, growing more 
distinct. Wild with terror, he made one last 
effort. The fierce, jerking strain told, and 
wrenching himself free he sprang to his feet 
with a hoarse cry. But as he was in the very 
act of leaping toward the open door his ankle 
was clutched in a tight grip and down he 
went headlong, striking and upsetting the 
stool and hurling the weapons that were on it 
to the floor. 

The rattle of the knife was sweetest music 
to Foulfoot, who was not even stunned by the 
fall. It lay within easy reach, the steel flash- 
ing in his eyes. His fingers tightened on the 
haft, and rising quickly to his feet he swung 
round to find himself confronted by Jenni- 
com. 


192 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Nay, ^tis useless, cried the old man, blind 
to his danger. Your punishment is or- 
dained.’’ 

Ordained ? Ill escape over your dead 
body,” vowed Foulfoot, with a grim laugh. 
“You shall have such mercy as you would 
have shown to me, Anthony Bennet.” 

With that he struck swiftly and unerringly, 
and Jennicom, though he thrust upward to 
seize the descending arm with both hands, 
failed to do more than lessen the impetus of 
the blow and shift it a little to one side. The 
knife sank deep into his shoulder and whipped 
out again, a crimson stain instantly marking 
the wound and soaking through shirt and 
cloak. A brief struggle followed, Foulfoot 
seeking to get control of the weapon in order 
to deliver a fatal and finishing stroke, while 
Jennicom, his face deathly pale, battling 
against the numbing weakness that was steal- 
ing his strength away, clung desperately 
to the other’s right arm. To and fro 
they swayed, both bleeding freely. Foul- 
foot’s left hand half-encircling his adversary’s 
throat. 

“ Help ! help ! ” cried Jennicom, thinking he 


With Puritan and Pequot 193 

had heard some one burst into the house from 
the garden. 

He was not mistaken, as it happened. 
There was a rush of footsteps, a shout, and on 
the threshold of the closet appeared Rufus, 
not a little startled by the scene that met his 
eyes. His sturdy figure barred the exit, much 
to the dismay of Foulfoot, who had that in- 
stant succeeded in wrenching himself from the 
old man’s hold, though in the final effort a 
turn of his wrist caused him to drop the knife. 
Jennicom staggered and fell, but not before he 
had recognized his son. 

“ Rufus, stop him ! ” he cried feebly. 

Foulfoot realized that to hesitate was to be 
lost. Casting swiftly about him for the knife, 
he espied his pistol lying at his feet. That 
was better, he thought, and in a trice he had 
snatched it up and taken aim at Rufus. A 
stunning explosion followed, but what with 
the lad’s agile move to one side, and the fact 
that the weapon, chancing to be over-loaded, 
kicked with violence, the charge passed harm- 
lessly through the doorway and penetrated the 
opposite wall. 

Rufus, bewildered by his narrow escape, was 


194 With Puritan and Pequot 


the next instant hurled off his feet ; for Foul- 
foot, immediately he fired, had leaped blindly 
forward amid the dense cloud of smoke. 
Down went the lad, and as he lay sprawling 
on the fioor of the outer room he heard the 
vicious swish of the empty pistol as it cut the 
air in search of him, and then was kicked and 
trampled as his enemy stumbled past him. 

But Foulfoot was in such frantic haste to 
get away that he thought of nothing else, and 
when Rufus, catching the sounds of retreat, 
pulled himself erect and groped dizzily across 
the room to the open door, he was just in time 
to see the rufiian’s shadowy figure dart out by 
the gate, which he had previously taken the 
precaution to unbar. He would have been 
wholly invisible, as he fled into the night, but 
for a red, wavering glare that was rapidly ap- 
proaching along the street. A tumult of 
voices near by smothered the clamor that was 
rising from other quarters. 

Lost to all sense of personal interest, forget- 
ting for the moment that escape meant hardly 
less to him than it did to Foulfoot, Rufus 
shouted at the top of his voice. That impul- 
sive act, and a brief interval of vacillation, 


With Puritan and Pequot 195 

sealed his folly. A group of armed men, 
carrying lanthorns and blazing pine-knots, 
suddenly appeared at the gateway, and pour- 
ing noisily across the garden they entered the 
house. A dozen or more they numbered, in- 
cluding several musketeers from the fort, Seth 
Dymett the jailer, and a neighbor by the 
name of Ben Gunnery. 

“What’s wrong here?” the latter de- 
manded, as the flood of light weirdly illumi- 
nated the room. “ Who fired those two 
shots? Why, comrades. I’ll be hanged if it 
ain’t young Jennicom ! ” 

“ We’re sure of one capture, then,” cried 
Dymett. “ I dare say, my lad, that you and 
your fellow-rogues didn’t count on the sen- 
tries being relieved so soon.” 

“ Rogues if you like, but I had naught to 
do with them,” vowed Rufus, wincing under 
the jailer’s heavy hand. “ I’ll go with you. 
Master Dymett,” he added huskily, “ but first 
— my father ! Oh ! he may be dead.” 

He shook the hand off, and quickly ran to 
the closet, where as many of the party as 
could And space crowded about the doorway. 
The scene within was ghastly, numerous 


196 With Puritan and Pequot 


bloody footprints on the floor telling of the 
desperate struggle for life. Jennicom, his 
clothing spattered with red stains, was in a 
sitting posture, his back propped against the 
wall. The contents of the money-bags lay 
around him unheeded, but he had rescued the 
leather-bound volume, which he held tightly, 
half-fearfully, to his breast, as he looked up 
with an ashen-gray countenance to the knot 
of eager, curious faces. 

‘‘ Foulfoot ? ” he muttered faintly. You’ve 
got him?” 

Foulfoot?” half a dozen voices echoed in 
surprise. Has the knave been here ? ” cried 
Dymett. 

You’ve narrowly missed him,” replied 
Rufus ; and in a few sentences he told what 
little he knew, thereby clearing himself of 
ugly suspicions that were already rife. I’m 
glad I came back, though it’s cost me my free- 
dom,” he went on, doggedly. I meant to 
escape, and I could have done so easily 
enough, for I had passed the house and was 
nearly to the forest. Then I heard the pistol- 
shot — ay, and the alarm as well. But I didn’t 
stop to think twice.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 197 

“You've got pluck, anyway,” said Dymett. 
“ 'Twas lucky you returned, for the scoundrel 
was bent on murder no less than robbery. 
He cherishes an old grudge against Jen- 
nicom.” 

Rufus had meanwhile knelt by his father's 
side, and several others gathered about him. 
Jennicom still clasped his precious diar}^ 
staring with a vacant, bewildered expression, 
and groaning deeply from time to time, as 
rough but careful hands removed his cloak 
and loosed his shirt. 

“ He's been stabbed in the shoulder,” ex- 
claimed Ben Gunnery. “ 'Tis a deep cut, and 
must be painful, but he'll mend of it in a fort- 
night, I'll warrant. The first call is to stanch 
the blood and put on a dressing, and after 
that he'll need to lie quietly in bed.” 

Seth Dymett began to rake the scattered 
gold into a heap. “ I'll see to this for you. 
Master Jennicom,” he said. “ And shall I re- 
lieve you of that book?” 

“ I'll take it, father,” offered Rufus. 

“ Nay, I'll not part with it,” vowed Jenni- 
com, speaking with difficulty, and in a dull, 
hollow voice. “ Tell me, lad, are they seek- 


198 with Puritan and Pequot 


ing for Foulfoot ? Better let him go. He’ll 
not trouble these parts again.” 

“Let him go?” echoed Ben Gunnery. 
“ He’s wounded, lad, you told us ? — shot 
through the arm? And he will be losing 
blood in his flight, no doubt. Well, then. I’m 
a Dutchman if I don’t believe we’ll overhaul 
the fellow yet. You know that queer-breed 
hound of mine, the one I bought of a Bristol 
skipper, who swore he’d had him second-hand 
out of the Duke of Dorset’s kennels. He’s a 
very wolf for tracking ” 

“ That’s as may be,” interrupted a mus- 
keteer, “ but the rain will have spoiled the 
scent.” 

“ Rain or no rain, the trick’s worth a trial,” 
interposed Dymett ; and the weight of his 
opinion silenced further criticism and carried 
unanimous approval. An exception, perhaps, 
was Carver Jennicom, but he was too ill to 
protest ; what his troubled eyes looked his 
lips could not interpret. 

Ben Gunnery had no more than gone when 
Dame Tybbott arrived with her nephew, the 
commotion having roused them from sleep. 
Assured that his father was not seriously 


With Puritan and Pequot 199 

hurt, and knowing that he would be well 
cared for, Rufus made a bold request of Seth 
Dymett. 

“ Let me go with you,” he begged. “ If 
Foulfoot’s to be caught I’d like to help.” 

“ If I did my duty I should clap you in 
irons and send you where you belong,” the 
jailer answered severely, but ” — he paused 
thoughtfully, “ but if you’ll promise to stick 
to me and come back to the house ” 

“ I swear I will, and you can trust me,” as- 
sured Rufus. “ I will come back to the 
house,” he added shrewdly, with a barely 
perceptible emphasis on the words. 

That’ll do,” said Dymett. “ I’ll take you 
with me.” 

Contrary to expectation Gunnery’s hound 
Mayflower was to achieve a brilliant feat — 
success it can hardly be called, as will be 
seen. Almost at the start, within a short dis- 
tance of the house, the animal swerved sud- 
denly aside, sniffed the ground, and lifting 
his head poured a hoarse, long-drawn howl 
from the depths of his throat. 

“ Good dog,” cried Gunnery. He’s got it.” 

’Twould se^m so,” assented Dymett, hold- 


200 


With Puritan and Pequot 

ing his lanthorn down. “ Here’s a patch of 
blood on the grass, right enough.” 

They hurried on, Mayflower leading at 
rope’s end, his muzzle steadily to earth. The 
forest loomed like a wall, and he plunged 
into the curtain of foliage. 

“ Best slip his leash,” urged one of the 
party, ‘‘ else we’ll not gain on the quarry.” 

This suggestion presented difficulties, which 
Gunnery was broaching when at a careless 
moment he allowed the rope to be jerked 
through his fingers. Away shot the hound, 
unerringly pursuing the scent, and after him 
trailed the eager searchers, their lanthorns and 
torches flaring picturesquely amid the wind- 
ings of the heavy timber and undergrowth. 

The chase proved to be neither long nor 
devious, and though the dog kept far ahead, 
his yelping rang so loud and clear that the 
men were never for a moment at fault as to 
their direction. Half a mile due north, the 
same east by northeast, and then the roar of 
breakers grew audible above the whistle of 
the gale. 

We’ll have him ! ” panted Gunnery. 
“ We’re getting close on. D’you hear ? ” 


201 


With Puritan and Pequot 

Seth Dymett was the first to issue from the 
rim of the forest, with Rufus a good second. 
They called lustily to the others as they ran 
down the rugged, uneven beach, for by the 
glow of the jailer’s torch they could see a nar- 
row peninsula of rocks jutting out between 
lashing waves and creamy foam, and at the 
farther end, perched on a crag at the base of 
which the hound was baying vociferously, a 
human figure was vaguely outlined against 
the blackness of the night. 

“ There he is ! ” cried Dymett. 

“ Ay, there’s the rogue,” echoed Rufus. 

And most neatly trapped.” 

Alas ! their satisfaction was short-lived. 
Pybus Foulfoot — it was undoubtedly he — was 
visible one instant, gone the next. There was 
a hoarse shout of defiance, a leap and a splash, 
and the point of rock was empty. Canine 
grief echoed dismally along the iron-bound 
coast as Mayflower, robbed of his legitimate 
prey, lifted his voice in quavering, prolonged 
howls of disappointment. 

The rest of the men gathered about the 
spot, and several scrambled precariously to 
the end of the peninsula, where there was no 


202 


With Puritan and Pequot 

hiding-place large enough to have sheltered a 
cat. They thrust torches almost into the 
yeasty spindrift, flashed them over the deep, 
wind-tossed waters that encircled the little 
cape, but of the daring swimmer there was 
not a trace. If his head was above the sur- 
face, and he was battling for life with the 
waves, he was already farther away than the 
light could reach. 

“ He was always a tricky scamp,” declared 
Gunnery. Hefll swim out and around, and 
then watch his chance to slip in.” 

He can’t keep afloat long, that’s certain,” 
replied Rufus. 

We’ll get him if he comes ashore,” said 
Dymett, adding brief and hasty instructions. 

Leaving two men to watch in the vicinity 
of the rocks, the others scattered in both di- 
rections. For nearly^ an hour they lined a 
half-mile of the coast, going to and fro, mak- 
ing the night lurid with the glare of lanthorns 
and blazing pine-knots, and peering with 
hands to eyes out upon the black, angry 
waste of waters, while the intelligent hound 
ranged back and forth with his nose to the 
boiling sands, To have slipped through the 


With Puritan and Pequot 203 

cordon without being seen was impossible, 
and assuredly the fugitive made no such at- 
tempt. 

Realizing that the vigil was fruitless, and 
that to persist in it longer would be only a 
waste of time, Seth Dymett finally called the 
men together. 

On the way back, as might have been ob- 
served, Dymett’s keen eyes never let Rufus 
out of his sight for a moment. At the edge 
of the settlement, which was in a state of 
noisy confusion, the party divided, the jailer 
and several companions stopping at Jenni- 
com’s gate, while the rest hurried off to learn 
if there was any news of the other free-booters. 

You shall have a word with your father, 
if you like,’^ Dymett said to his young charge, 
^^and then ” He jerked his thumb to- 

ward the town. “ You understand, my lad, 
that I’ve got to do my duty,” he added. 

Rufus made no reply. With a heavy 
heart, but clinging to a ray of hope that had 
as yet assumed no tangible shape, he entered 
the house. Dame Tybbott, who was coaxing 
water to boil on a fire of damp wood, glanced 
at the lad with curiosity and pity. 


204 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ The worshipful Governor has been and 
gone/’ she exclaimed, “ and he sent a box of 
healing ointment Master Brewster. Ter- 
rible doings, indeed ! Good lack, ’tis a merc}^ 
we’ve not all been murdered in our sleep ” 

‘‘Is that you, Rufus?” Humfrey’s voice 
called from above. “ Your father desires to 
see you at once. He would speak with you 
privately.” 

“ Go up, lad,” said Dymett, hesitating long 
enough to catch approving nods from his 
companions. “ Shalt have five minutes.” 

Rufus slowly ascended the ladder, and 
there was awkward constraint on both sides 
as he greeted the boyish friend with whom he 
had quarreled so bitterly. Humfrey, who 
was alone with the patient, withdrew to the door. 

Jennicom, his wound having been bathed 
and dressed, had been carried up to his bed, 
where he lay with hot and fevered cheeks 
tossing restlessly. From under his pillow 
peeped the back of the leather-bound diary. 
He looked at Rufus without anger or resent- 
ment, with a strange, wistful tenderness. 

“My boy, they’ve not caught him?” he 
asked quickly. 


With Puritan and Pequot 205 

Nay, father, he is dead.” 

‘‘Dead?” gasped the old man, laying a 
trembling hand on the lad's arm. “ Dead, 
you say ? There’s no mistake ? ” 

“ None,” Rufus assured him. “ Foulfoot 
was drowned. We drove him into the sea, 
where he perished among the rocks and 
waves.” 

“ Thank God ! ” murmured Jennicom. 
“His ways are best.” 

His lips moved as if in prayer, and with a 
quivering sigh he closed his eyes. He was 
either asleep or in a stupor. 

Though a little puzzled by the effect of his 
news, Rufus gave it but a passing thought. 
He had much else on his mind, and must act 
speedily. A lump rose to his throat as he 
bent over his father and kissed him on the 
forehead. Then, hastily discarding Laplash’s 
gray laced coat, he put on an old jacket and 
hat of his own, taking them from a hook. A 
pistol lay on the shelf, together with powder- 
horn and bullet-pouch. He took possession 
of all three, stepped quickly across the room, 
and clapped a hand on Humfrey’s shoulder, 
who turned with a start. 


2 o 6 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ What did Governor Bradford say ? ” 
Rufus asked coldly. “Will my father re- 
cover ? 

“ Why, he’s in no danger,” was the reply. 
“ Careful nursing will put him on his feet in 
a week.” 

“ You’ll do what you can for him, Hum- 
frey ? ” 

“ Be sure of that, Rufus.” 

“ Then I shall leave him with less regret. 
One thing more. Tell me, has Sir Lanslott 
Charmion left Plymouth ? ” 

“Ay, he sailed for Boston two days ago. 
But why do you ” 

“ Good-bye,” interrupted Rufus, “ and wish 
me luck, if you will. As for our quarrel, 
’twill mend with time. Remember me to 
Rose ” 

“ Rufus, what does this mean ? ” Humfrey 
exclaimed. 

“ Hush ! not a sound,” Rufus answered 
fiercely, as he pushed the window open. 
“ Would you betray me ? ” 

“ Not I,” vowed Humfrey, with sudden 
comprehension. “ Go, if you’re determined 
on it. But first consider, I beg of you ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 207 

The words fell on deaf ears, for Rufus, hav- 
ing swung over the window ledge, had 
dropped lightly down to the garden. He 
darted out at the gate and around the house, 
paused for a moment to listen, and then ran 
at full speed through the darkness in the 
direction of the forest. 


CHAPTER XV 


IN WHICH A PRETTY PLOT IS HATCHED WITHIN 
THE ADMIRAL BLAKE AT DORCHESTER 

It was the 29th of July, and since early 
morning the day had been close and sultry, 
oppressive to man and beast alike with the 
heat of the ripe, full summertide. 

A few yards beyond the northern edge of 
the straggling settlement of Dorchester, on the 
Boston road, the Admiral Blake looked toward 
the sea from a grove of pine-trees that girt it 
on sides and rear. It was a modest little inn 
with two projecting gables, and over its portals 
swung a much cracked and faded likeness of 
the doughty Elizabethan sea-warrior of Ar- 
mada fame. It had recently changed hands 
for a mere song, and in place of the late owner, 
gone to Virginia to better his fortunes, we find 
Jarvis Story installed in the proud position of 
landlord. That worthy person, having in- 
curred magisterial displeasure through the il- 

208 


With Puritan and Pequot 209 

legal meeting held at his house, and been 
mulcted in a heavy fine as well, had in high 
dudgeon turned his back on Boston and ef- 
fected the purchase of the Admiral Blake, 
where he lived quite by himself. 

At four o’clock Master Story was dozing in 
a big armchair with a yellow dog asleep beside 
him, and at ten past four to the minute he 
sprang suddenly to his feet, roused by the 
shrill barking of the animal and by cautious 
steps at the rear door. A quarter of an hour 
later he might have been observed to walk 
round the house to the front, his sleeves rolled 
up, an apron tied about his waist, and a very 
troubled expression on his perspiring face. 

“ ’Tis piping hot,” he told himself. For a 
moment, with lukewarm interest, he watched 
a vessel that had put into Dorchester Bay 
and appeared to be lowering part of her 
canvas ; at another time the event would have 
wakened his curiosity. Lack-a-day ! what’s 
to be done, what’s to be done? ” he muttered. 

Ah, ’tis a pity. And I’m all in a pother 
over it.” 

A final squint up and down the lonely road, 
and he retraced his steps to the back of the 


ilo With Puritan and Pequot 

inn, from whence he presently appeared in the 
tap-room bearing a wooden tray. 

To the left of the door and window was a 
sort of compartment, after the fashion of Eng- 
lish taverns, formed by the tw^o walls and a 
high-backed settle. Within this, his elbows 
resting on a small table and his chin propped 
in his hands, sat Rufus Jennicom. He looked 
weary and dejected, as in truth he was. For 
more than a week he had been wandering in 
the forest, subsisting chiefly on roots and ber- 
ries, and making what shift he could at night 
— excepting a period of four days when he 
kept company with some Wampanoag Indians. 
Failing to discover any trace of Roger Will- 
iams, he had at length fallen back on another 
project he had in mind ; in pursuance of 
which, reaching the outskirts of Dorchester 
that afternoon and driven by the pangs of 
hunger to the Admiral Blake, he had been 
vastly surprised to And in the landlord an old 
friend and one willing to aid him. 

“ Here’s bread and cheese, and a venison- 
pasty,” said Jarvis Story, as he placed the tray 
on the table ; he had already listened to a 
brief account of the lad’s adventures. Nay, 


211 


With Puritan and Pequot 

I’ll accept not a penny,” he added, as Rufus 
drew several coins from his pocket. I’m in 
a measure to blame for your troubles, since 
they began with that luckless meeting I per- 
suaded you to attend. ’Tis a sad business, 
Master Jennicom.” 

They’re seeking for me, I dare say ? ” asked 
Rufus, who was making fierce inroads on the 
food and taking comfort therefrom. 

Ay, I’ll not deny it. But you’re safe 
enough for the present, V\l see to that. There 
are none hereabouts who would recognize 
you.” 

I’m not going to be caught if I can help 
it,” vowed Rufus, pulling a brave face. “ Come, 
tell me the news. Master Story. My 
father ” 

‘‘ I heard yesterday that he was mending 
fast. As for Roger Williams, ’tis reported that 
he’s gone back to his congregation at Salem, 
and that he’s not to be disturbed so long as he 
holds his tongue. Indeed, the magistrates are 
most forbearing with him. I’d no such le- 
niency shown to me.” 

Nor should I receive any,” said Rufus. 

Roger Williams hath the power of disarm- 


212 


With Puritan and Pequot 

ing his enemies, which I can easily under- 
stand. But what of the bold freebooters ? 

“ Nothing is known of them,” was the re- 
ply. ‘‘ They’re hundreds of miles away, be 
assured.” 

I wish I was with them,” Rufus cried reck- 
lessly ; and his features settled into a hard and 
sullen expression. “ Nay, I don’t mean that,” 
he went on, “ but none the less I’m off for 
other parts at the first opportunity. They’ve 
driven me to it.” 

Ay, that they have,” assented the landlord, 
with a regretful shake of the head. “ Were I 
a few years younger I’d be almost tempted to 
go with you — why, a man can’t lay claim to 
his own soul in New England in these days. 
And where d’you propose to start from?” 

“ From Boston, if I can find a vessel,” re- 
plied Rufus, who was unwilling to disclose his 
real intentions of obtaining a secret interview 
with Sir Lanslott Charmion. I’ll set out 
thither as soon as ’tis dark enough.” 

“ Good luck go with you,” said Jarvis Story, 
hiding a sense of selfish relief in that fervent 
expression. “ While it seems in one way like 
running your head into a noose, on the other 


With Puritan and Pequot 213 

hand Boston is the very last place where they’d 

think of looking ” He broke off at that, 

and stared for a moment out of the window. 
“ Strangers ! ” he exclaimed in a hoarse whis- 
per. “ They’re coming here, no doubt. Stop 
where you are, lad, and be as quiet as a mouse. 
’Twill be the best plan, for you’ve no time to 
make your escape. Not that you’re in any 
hazard, for these will be but harmless sailor- 
men fresh from shipboard. I’d forgotten the 
vessel lying yonder.” 

Hastily fetching a high settle from across 
the room, he put it down at a right angle to 
the other one, allowing but a narrow open 
space next the wall, and thus safeguarding the 
lad within by a fourth and additional barrier. 
An instant later voices and footsteps were 
heard outside, and the landlord stepped to the 
door to meet his guests. 

By this time, leaving his meal unfinished, 
Rufus had prepared himself for an interval 
of silence and inaction, with his tired limbs 
stretched on the oaken bench and his back 
resting against the wall. By moving his head 
slightly he could command a limited view of 
the window, through which he saw the ap- 


214 With Puritan and Pequot 


proach of three men. Two were common 
sailors, and as ill-looking fellows as one could 
find in a day’s journey, but the third was a 
young man of a very different stamp, who car- 
ried his slim, wiry figure with an air of distinc- 
tion. Though he was plainly attired in the 
manner of a ship’s officer, though his hair was 
cut short and his face was clean-shaven , h e could 
not deceive the sharp, boyish eyes that were cov- 
ertly watching him. The first glimpse was 
enough for Rufus, and brought a quick throb 
to his heart and a flush to his cheeks. 

’Tis Dollier Le Casson,” he vowed, or 
else he hath a double. And that’s not 
likely.” 

Suspicion promptly became a certainty. 
The sailors remained without, squatting on a 
seat to one side of the door, while their com- 
panion entered the inn and called for the 
landlord, and the voice was unmistakably Le 
Casson ’s, albeit he spoke with little trace of a 
French accent. 

So the freebooters were not, after all, hun- 
dreds of miles from the New England settle- 
ments. Here was an interesting situation, 
rich in possible developments and mystery. 


With Puritan and Pequot 215 

and Rufus, forgetting his troubles for the time- 
being, resolved to discover what was in the 
wind. Turning from the window he examined 
the high back of the settle on which he was 
resting, and as luck would have it he found 
at once, in a position that could not have been 
bettered, a knot-hole sufficiently large to af- 
ford a view from one eye. 

Captain Le Casson was seated by a table near 
the middle of the tap-room, the fingers of one 
hand beating a restless tattoo on the polished 
surface of the wood, and his gaze was fixed 
on a couple of prints that hung on the oppo- 
site wall, when the landlord returned to him 
after serving the men outside. 

There’s bread and cheese and meat to be 
had, sir,” suggested Master Story, with a hope 
of further profit. 

I wish for nothing else,” was the reply. 
‘‘ My good man, perchance a letter or a mes- 
sage has been received here for a certain Simon 
Raleigh.” 

Nay, sir, neither word nor writing — at 
least not as yet. You’re expecting the same ? 
And at the Admiral Blake? ” 

At the Admiral Blake,” assented Le Cas- 


2i 6 With Puritan and Pequot 

son. “ There’s no mistake about that. But 
I’ve arrived too early, it seems.” 

You will be the gentleman named, sir?” 
inquired Master Story, who had an inquisitive 
bent of mind, and was anxious to learn as 
much as possible concerning this unusual type 
of customer. 

“ I am Simon Raleigh,” Le Casson told him 
carelessly, “ skipper of the trading- vessel Due 
Return, which dropped anchor an hour ago 
in yonder bay. And ’twas a business ap- 
pointment, made with an acquaintance of 
these parts, that brought me to your house. 
My good fellow. I’ll wait.” 

“If I can be of any assistance to you, 
sir ” 

“You may take your score out of this,” Le 
Casson broke in curtly, as he flung a silver 
coin on the table, “ and keep something for 
your own refreshment.” 

“ Thank you, sir,” said the landlord. 

He was fumbling in his pocket for change 
when a rapid, thudding noise, swelling in the 
sultry distance, came clearly to the occupants 
of the room. 

“ D’you hear that? ” cried Le Casson, start- 


With Puritan and Pequot 217 

ing to his feet and clapping a hand on the 
short cutlass that he wore. 

“ Hoof-beats/’ Jarvis Story declared. 

Some one’s riding in hot haste, I’m thinking.” 

He ran to the door, followed by Le Casson, 
and they and the two sailors turned eager 
eyes Boston ward, whence a horseman was ap- 
proaching at a gallop. He tightened rein as 
he neared the inn, and checked his panting, 
lathering steed alongside the little group. 
Rufus, peering cautiously from the window, 
wondered if the arrival could mean mischief 
to himself 

Ned Wilder ! ” exclaimed the landlord, 
recognizing an old friend. Oons ! man, 
what’s amiss? ” 

“ It’s come at last,” cried the rider. Bloody 
war with the Pequots, sure as fate. They’ve 
murdered poor John Oldham.” 

“ Where ? When ? ” gasped Master Story. 

Off Block Island, nine days ago.” 

'' Alack ! poor John,” cried Master Story. 

He was a worthy fellow, and deserved a 
better end.” 

He’ll be well-avenged. I’ll warrant,” re- 
plied the horseman, “ But I must be riding 


2i 8 With Puritan and Pequot 

on to spread the news of a meeting that’s to 
be held in Boston this very night, the Gov- 
ernor and magistrates presiding, to plan im- 
mediate operations against the Pequots. A 
force is to be mustered and despatched to 
Block Island, and Captain Underhill is en- 
rolling names already. I’ve just left Pine- 
wood, where I saw Mr. Christopher Gardiner 
and his guest, Sir Lanslott Charmion. They’re 
both setting off at once to lend their influence 
and presence to the council.” 

At this Le Casson, who had listened indif- 
ferently to the account of John Oldham’s 
murder, betrayed sudden evidence of surprise 
and interest. 

Ned Wilder straightened in the saddle, 
then bent down again with one hand in his 
doublet. 

Why, I’d almost forgotten,” he said. 

Jarvis, d’you happen to know any one an- 
swering to the name of Raleigh ? ” 

“ That’s my name — Simon Raleigh,” ex- 
claimed Le Casson, starting forward. 

Then here’s a letter for you, sir, which 
I’m commissioned to deliver by a gentleman 
in Boston,” 


With Puritan and Pequot 219 

The next instant Wilder had gathered up 
the lines and was galloping off to bear the 
news to Dorchester and other coast settle- 
ments. The two sailors sat down on the 
bench outside, and Jarvis Story and Le 
Casson entered the inn, the latter humming a 
light air as he glanced at the sealed missive 
for which he had been waiting. Rufus, who 
had seen and overheard all, crept back to his 
corner. He clenched his fists in a spasm of 
impotent regret, and bitter tears were very 
near to filling his eyes. 

What a chance I’ve thrown away ! ” he 
thought. “ There will be war with the 
Pequots now, and I might have turned sol- 
dier, and seen some sharp fighting, without 
leaving the colonies. But ’tis no use wishing 
things were different. If I went to Boston to- 
night, and offered to volunteer, they would 
only clap me in jail for my pains.” 

Such folly was not to be dreamed of, the 
lad decided. War or no war, he was a fugi- 
tive from the law, and had forfeited his right 
to shoulder a musket in defense of the New 
England settlements. Presently, in a sullen 
mood, he resumed his vigil at the knot-hole. 


220 With Puritan and Pequot 

He was sleepy and tired, and the strain of 
keeping awake and on the alert was begin- 
ning to tell on him. 

Le Casson, who was in his former place, 
had finished reading the letter. It lay open 
before him, and he was tapping it with his 
fingers, his expression absent and meditative, 
as he leaned back in his chair wdth his legs 
stretched under the table. Suddenly he sat 
up, his lips moving and a fiash of determina- 
tion in his eyes. He called the landlord 
from the next room. 

“ The horseman mentioned a certain Chris- 
topher Gardiner,” he said listlessly. “ I 
knew a gentleman of that name in Englanc^ 
and I’ve a fancy it may be the same.” 

Very likely, sir,” replied Jarvis Story. 

Mr. Gardiner came out from London three 
months ago, to better his health, I’m told. 
He bought a house of Governor Winthrop 
close by here — less than a mile up the Boston 
road — which he calls Pinewood. He lives in 
some state, and at present he’s entertaining 
Sir Lanslott Charmion, the King’s deputy. 
Perchance you’re acquainted with the latter 
gentleman as well.” 


221 


With Puritan and Pequot 

Nay, IVe not that honor,’’ said Le Casson. 
“ My good man. I’ll trouble you for writing 
materials,” he added. 

You shall have them, sir,” replied the 
landlord, who was anxious to be rid of his 
customer. 

Having brought quills and paper, an ink- 
horn and a pounce-box, he took himself out 
of the room. Le Casson, satisfied that he was 
alone, fell to his task at once. He wrote very 
slowly and with minute pains, casting a 
glance toward the adjoining room from time 
to time, and most frequently pausing to refer 
to the letter he had received, which was 
spread open at his elbow. It might have 
been supposed that he was making a copy of 
it, though such was very far from being the 
case. 

Meanwhile, from behind the high-backed 
settle, Rufus kept watch until fatigue proved 
stronger than curiosity. His eyes closed, his 
head sank into the corner of the wall, and al- 
most instantly he was asleep. 


CHAPTER XVI 


IN WHICH CONSTABLE BLADES IS VEKY MUCH 
UPSET 

Rufus was rudely awakened by a hand 
tugging at his arm. He sat upright, stiff and 
cramped in every limb, unable at first to col- 
lect his thoughts. Then the creaking of the 
sign-board outside the inn, as it rocked in a 
cooling breeze, stirred vivid recollections to 
life ; he became aware of the landlord’s pres- 
ence beside him. 

“I’m awake. Master Story,” he murmured 
drowsily. “ What’s o’clock ? Where’s Cap- 
tain Le Casson ? ” 

“ Where’s who ?” 

“ I mean Simon Raleigh. Has he gone ? ” 

“ You’re in a muddle, lad. Ay, the fine 
gentleman went off before sundown — he and 
his scrubby pair of sea-dogs. What brought 
them to Dorchester ? A queer sort of skipper 
to command an English trading vessel, I vow. 
Why, I caught him gibbering to himself in a 
222 


With Puritan and Pequot 223 

language that sounded mightily like French. 
However, that’s neither here nor there. To 
come to the point, the night is falling, you’ve 
a clear coast, and ’tis time you thought of 
starting on your way. That is, if you’re still 
in the mind for Boston.” 

“ Which I am. Master Story,” Rufus an- 
swered. He stepped to the window and 
looked out. The shadows under the pine- 
trees were black by contrast with the open 
road, where the rising moon was already cast- 
ing a silvery glow. 

’Twill be a large meeting,” continued the 
landlord. The men of Dorchester, and 
many from beyond, straggled past long since. 
’Tis a wonder you were not wakened, for some 
of them marched to the tap of drums. The 
town will be full to overflowing.” 

“ All the better if it is,” said Rufus. I’ll 
have less to fear in a crowd. And the sooner 
I get to Boston ” 

‘‘ You shall set off directly. But first, my 
lad, will you tell me what you can make of 
this ? ” handing him a letter. ’Tis the same 
that Wilder brought for Mr. Simon Raleigh. 
He thrust it into his doublet, whence it must 


224 With Puritan and Pequot 

have fallen out again, for I found it lying 
beneath the table after he had gone. I tried 
to read it, but bless you, I’m not enough of a 
scholar for that, being hard put to spell even 
a printed word. Wait a minute, and I’ll fetch 
a light.” 

“ Will it be safe? ” asked Rufus. 

Ay, there’s no one about.” 

So Jarvis Story believed, but it happened 
that he was wrong. He moved the settle 
away from the end of the compartment, 
Rufus following at his heels, and was on the 
point of closing the inn-door when the dark 
figure of a man suddenly blocked the open- 
ing and advanced into the tap-room. 

How are you, Jarvis?” was his familiar 
greeting. “Just closing up, eh? Well, I’ll 
not detain you long.” 

“ Elias Blades ! ” exclaimed the landlord, in 
a voice that trembled a little. “ What’s 
brought you at this hour? ” 

“The behest of the law, Jarvis, else I 
should be at the town-meeting. I’m here in 
consequence of a rumor that reached Boston 
this afternoon to the effect — but who’s with 
you, may I ask ? ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 22^ 

There was a moment of breathless silence, 
for Master Story was speechless with fear and 
consternation, and then, as Rufus slipped 
back a pace or two with the intention of 
making a dash to the rear. Blades sprang for- 
ward and seized him by the arm. 

“ Not so fast, my friend,’^ he cried. “ Your 
actions are suspicious. Come, let’s have a 
look at your face.” 

The lad submitted quietly, and offered no 
resistance until he had been drawn to the 
open door, when by a fierce jerk he tore his 
arm loose and darted over the threshold. 
But a lusty shout at his ear, and the rush of 
feet immediately behind him, gave warning, 
before he was six yards from the inn, that 
not by speed alone could he hope to evade re- 
capture. A doubtful stratagem hashed to his 
mind, and was as quickly put to test. Swerv- 
ing slightly from his course he checked him- 
self, wheeled half-round, and thrust one leg 
out in front of the hotly-pursuing constable, 
who tripped headlong over it and measured 
his length on the grass. He was a portly 
man, and came down with a thud that 
knocked the breath from his body. His 


226 With Puritan and Pequot 

wheezy grunt provoked an irresistible peal of 
laughter from Rufus, who, not waiting to see 
the full effects of the fall, sped rapidly along 
the bridle-path in the direction of Dorchester. 

“ Help ! Murder ! Blood and fury ! '' 
bellowed Elias Blades, between gasps. “ ’Tis 
young Jennicom — stop him — in the name of 
the law. Where are you, Jarvis? You 
skulking dog — you abettor of felons — lend a 
hand, or 111 pound you purple.’^ 

The flow of language was if anything on 
the increase when Rufus, from a distance of 
fifty yards, stopped in his tracks and looked 
back. He glimpsed Master Story and the 
constable, the latter by now on his feet, stand- 
ing in the moonlight under the sign of the 
Admiral Blake ; and then, waving his hat at 
them, he leisurely stepped into the borders of 
the forest. 

But directly the foliage had closed over 
him, hiding him from view, the lad’s indiffer- 
ence turned to strenuous action. Already, 
since the flight began, he had settled just 
what he was going to do. This plan, evolved 
from stress of altered circumstances, seemed 
good to him ; and more than that, he felt 


With Puritan and Pequot 227 

confident that he could carry it out with 
little or no difficulty. 

He ran very swiftly among the trees, keep- 
ing near to and parallel with the road, which 
a few yards farther on turned so sharply as to 
carry it out of sight of the inn. Here, within 
a short distance of the houses of Dorchester, 
Rufus slipped across to the east and seaward 
side, first making sure that no person was 
visible in either direction. He was now in a 
lonely tract of rocks and scrubby bushes that 
lay between the highway and the coast, and 
afforded plenty of thick cover, should he be 
sought for there. It was unlikely, however, 
that he would be, for he had doubled back 
only twenty yards or so when he heard voices 
and footsteps approaching from the direction 
of the inn. Crouching low in a thicket, he 
overheard a brief and pleasing fragment of 
conversation, as Master Story and his com- 
panion hurried by the spot, and so near that 
they might almost have touched him. 

“ Make haste, you lout,’^ urged Blades. 

Run ahead and give the alarm. Idl want at 
least a dozen men for the pursuit.” 

“ I doubt if there will be half so many left 


228 With Puritan and Pequot 

in the village/' replied Master Story, in a 
grumbling tone. “ Anyway, you’ll never 
find the lad in the forest — not if you had two- 
score to help you.” 

'' If I lose him ’twill be your fault,” the 
constable cried savagely. “ You’ve served me 
a pretty trick, and be assured that Governor 
Vane shall know how you harbored and 
aided ” 

The voices sank to a murmur as the two 
passed on, and a little later, 'when Rufus had 
gone a considerable distance in the opposite 
direction, he heard a hue and cry far to the 
rear. It caused him no uneasiness, however, 
for he knew that his ruse had been a suc- 
cess. 

“ They won’t come this way,” he told him- 
self, “ and while they are searching the woods 
I shall be snugly hidden on board the Due 
Return ; that is, if nothing unforeseen turns 
up. After what has happened already, it 
would be more than risky to venture into 
Boston, or to try to see Sir Lanslott Charmion. 
And now that Pybus Foulfoot is dead, and no 
longer in the reckoning, Vaylmer Laplash is 
the man to help me. I’m not over-anxious to 


With Puritan and Pequot 229 

join the freebooters, but it’s either that or be 
caught, so here goes/^ 

The future must take care of itself, he de- 
cided, as he pushed on among the rocks and 
bushes, steering as straight a course as possi- 
ble for the landing-place at Dorchester Bay. 
He quickened his steps, fearing lest the vessel 
should set sail without him ; but presently, on 
a sudden impulse, he pulled up in a sandy 
combe and took from his pocket the letter 
which Jarvis Story had given to him. 

“ I’ll do well to see what this relates to,” he 
thought. “ ’Twas no simple errand, surely, 
that brought the Due Return to these parts 
and sent Dollier Le Casson ashore under a 
false name.” 

The moon was shining brightly overhead, 
and by the silvery glow he was able to de- 
cipher the greater portion of the missive, 
which was written in a large hand on one side 
of the paper. It lacked formal beginning and 
signature, and ran as follow^s, except where in 
places the ink was pale and illegible : 

‘‘ King’s man is — at Dorchester, but have 
just learned that he’s expected in Boston to 
attend a — this evening. So shall wait to 


23 ° With Puritan and Pequot 

beard him, and press with all ardor — though 
with small hopes, I confess. ’Tis midsummer 
madness, indeed, but by hook or by crook, 
Dollier, I must — my sweet maid. Be cau- 
tious, and do nothing that may rouse suspi- 
cion. A boat, sent across at midnight to — 
will find me waiting. If I come not you’ll 
know the enterprise — landed me — bolts and 
bars.” 

Seating himself upon a flat stone, Rufus 
gave his whole mind to the problem that had 
been thrust upon him at such an awkward 
moment. He reread the letter and put it 
carefully away in his pocket. 

‘‘ It might be more to the point,” he re- 
flected, ‘‘ but ’tis plain enough so far as it goes. 
Vaylmer Laplash is the writer, and he is now 
in Boston to see Sir Lanslott Charmion, by 
whom is meant the ‘ King’s man.’ The 
‘ sweet maid ’ is of course Mistress Charmion, 
and she is threatened with some mischief, 
which ’tis my duty to frustrate if possible.” 
He took but a short time to consider, then 
rose to his feet. His choice was made, and 
unselfishly. “ I’ll have no dealings with 
Vaylmer Laplash and his lawless crew,” he 


With Puritan and Pequot 231 

vowed. I’m for Pinewood, there to lie in 
hiding by the roadside till Sir Lanslott re- 
turns to-night. Come what may I’ll give him 
the letter and a warning, though ’tis more 
likely to cost me my freedom than to end in 
a safe passage aboard the Marygold when she 
sails from Boston.” 

That Annis Charmion might be in any im- 
mediate peril did not for an instant occur to 
the lad. He altered his course a little, and 
went leisurely on in a northwesterly direction, 
until he judged that he was in the vicinity of 
Mr. Christopher Gardiner’s residence. And 
then, as he was about to swing off to the left 
to reconnoitre the road, his attention was ar- 
rested for a moment by a vision that was as 
startling as it was unexpected. Across a 
moonlit glade, fifty yards or so straight ahead 
of him, passed two slim, girlish figures, half- 
muffled in cloaks. Gliding from shadow to 
shadow, they briefiy appeared and were gone. 

Rufus stood rubbing his eyes, well-nigh 
persuaded that it was all a delusion, until he 
suddenly remembered the scene at the inn — 
the letter that Dollier Le Casson had written 
with such slow pains. Here was enough to 


232 With Puritan and Pequot 

waken his fears, though it gave him but the 
barest inkling of the truth. He hastened to 
the spot where the figures had vanished, and 
was in time to catch the fiutter of a skirt at a 
distance to the right. In this direction a 
faintly-marked path led seaward, and at once 
he struck into it. 

Ifil follow them,’' he decided. “ Either 
there’s treachery afoot to-night, or ’tis an 
affair that I’ve no call to meddle with. But 
I had best make certain one way or t’other.” 

He still retained the pistol he had secured 
the night he escaped from his father’s house, 
and it was now at his belt, charged and primed. 
For a quarter of an hour he pressed on, creep- 
ing warily among the stones and scrub, and 
getting never a glimpse of the objects of his 
pursuit. At length, finding himself near the 
shore, he stopped in some doubt. Through 
the leaves he saw the spars and rigging of a 
vessel lying out on the bay. He could hear 
nothing at first save the gentle wash of the 
tide, and was in a mind to abandon the con- 
cern, thinking he had gone astray, when the 
bushes rustled and swayed close by. 

“ Art sure this is the spot, Joan? ” asked a 


With Puritan and Pequot 233 

low, sweet voice that the lad immediately rec- 
ognized. 

'' Ay, mistress, ^tis here the boats land,'’ was 
the reply. 

The next instant a piercing scream suddenly 
stifled, and sounds of a violent scuffle, brought 
Rufus upon the scene in two strides. Burst- 
ing into a sandy open space within a few yards 
of the beach, he saw by the bright moonlight 
Annis Charmion and a girl-companion strug- 
gling in the grasp of three sailors. Rufus 
sprang forward with a shout. The sailors, 
taken by surprise, stopped and turned. In a 
moment Rufus reached the man who held 
Annis, and sent him sprawling. Then he lev- 
eled his pistol at the others. 

Let the maid go, at once," he cried. The 
two ruffians, cowed by his weapon, fell back 
and released their captive. 

Quick, run, run ! " cried Rufus to the two 
girls, pointing to the way he had come. I 
will hold them until you are safe on the high- 
road. Run ! " 

Come, Joan." Annis seized her compan- 
ion by the hand, and together they sped 
swiftly back up the slope. Fortunately the 


234 With Puritan and Pequot 

three sailors had been unarmed, but their calls 
brought others with pistols, from a boat not 
far off, and as Rufus turned to run they were 
almost upon him. He saw in a moment that 
he had only one chance. At the back of the 
beach was a bank, not high, but quite steep, 
and the path up its face led between two huge 
boulders. As the sailors dashed toward him 
Rufus sprang up the path, crouched behind 
one of the rocks, and seized a large stone he 
found there. The head of the first of his pur- 
suers appeared above the bank. Rufus knew 
the evil face ; he had last seen it bending over 
Carver Jennicom^s bleeding body. The thought 
added strength to Rufus’ arms as he swung 
them up over his head. 

Pybus Foulfoot,” he gasped. “ Wert not 
drowned then ! ” and hurled the stone with all 
his might. It struck the villain full in the 
chest, and he sank back with a groan. Another 
followed him close, but this time the lad’s pis- 
tol was ready. As he fired he sprang up and 
ran. He counted upon throwing his foes into 
confusion for a few moments at least, and in 
this he succeeded. The men hesitated before 
making another rush, and when they finally 


With Puritan and Pequot 235 

gained the top of the bank Rufus and the girls 
were out of sight. 

“ No use, lads,” said the leader. '' Ma foi ! 
but the young rascal has foiled us neatly. 
Back to the boat.” Without doubt the voice 
belonged to Dollier Le Casson. 


CHAPTER XVII 


IN WHICH RUFUS MAKES A FRESH START 

Rufus ran on up the rough path, fearing at 
any moment to hear his pursuers at his heels. 
If they caught him again they could dispose 
of him easily, as he had not even had time to 
reload his weapon. He could easily have hid- 
den in one of the dark clumps of bushes near 
at hand, but the thought did not occur to 
him, — so determined was he to remain on the 
path between Le Casson and Annis until he 
knew that the English maid was safe. 

At last he realized, with relief, that he was 
nearing the road. He quickened his pace, and 
as he swept round a turn of the path he ran 
into the arms of a young man. 

“ Thank heaven ! ” cried the other. They 
have not hurt you ! ” 

Rufus stood breathless and amazed. “ Hum- 
frey Brewster,” he panted, “ how came you 
here? ” 

“ Why, I ran on ahead of the others,” cried 

236 


With Puritan and Pequot 237 

Humfrey. Mistress Annis told us of your 
danger. Twas like you, Rufus ! 

‘‘ Then she is safe ? ” 

Aye, Sir Lanslott and Mr. Gardiner and the 
others are coming. So you escaped the villains 
after all ! 

Yes,” said Rufus. ‘‘ I think they have 
given up the chase. It was good of you to 
come to help me. I have had hard thoughts 
of you, Humfrey. Forgive me ! ” 

Aye, Rufus.” The two lads clasped hands, 
and the quarrel that had marred their friend- 
ship was healed forever. In a few moments 
the party led by Sir Lanslott came up to them, 
and the nobleman fairly overwhelmed Rufus 
with his gratitude. “ This is the second debt 
you have laid me under. Master Jennicom,” 
he said, ‘‘ and it is a heavy one. Be assured I 
shall not forget it. And now tell us what 
happened. Annis and her maid have been 
too agitated to tell their story.” 

So Rufus told of the struggle, and of what 
he had overheard at the Admiral Blake, and 
finally he handed Sir Lanslott the letter he 
had found, pointing out that it was undoubt- 
edly written by Laplash. 


238 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Vaylmer Laplash ! exclaimed the noble- 
man, ‘‘ why, this makes it clear as daylight. 
It is but another of that young rake’s es- 
capades. His estate joins mine in Hampshire, 
and he made love to my daughter, though she 
would have none of him, and his father and I 
were opposed to the match. He went off to 
London in a temper and killed a man there in 
a duel, so that he was forced to flee the coun- 
try. Unhappy young man : I am sorry for 
him.” 

Both Sir Lanslott and Mr. Gardiner insisted 
that Rufus should accompany them back to 
Pinewood. “ Nay, Annis will not take it 
kindly if you do not give her the opportunity 
to thank you in person,” urged Sir Lanslott, 
and Rufus finally yielded, though he feared it 
was not wise to place himself once more in the 
power of the magistrates. 

The welcome that Rufus received from 
Mistress Annis warmed him through and 
through, and made him feel that it was good 
to be again among friends. That night he and 
Humfrey slept together, but before they closed 
their eyes there was much they had to say to 
each other — of the wanderings of Rufus in the 


With Puritan and Pequot 239 

forest, of Carver Jennicom^s recovery from his 
wound, and of the war against the Pequots. 
Rufus listened eagerly with a hopeful and 
contented heart. The news of his father’s re- 
stored health was happiness enough for the 
present, and as for the shadow of the trial that 
awaited him if he returned to Boston, he 
was quite ready to believe — and with good 
reason — that Sir Lanslott’s influence and Mr. 
Gardiner’s would be exerted to save him from 
the penalty of the law. 

Humfrey, I’ve made a sad mess of it 
all,” he admitted, “ but what I’ve gone 
through since the night I cut the Governor’s 
standard has taught me a lesson.” 

'^You’re too impulsive, that’s just the 
trouble,” Humfrey replied, ‘‘ and if you’re not 
careful you’ll And yourself in a fresh scrape 
one of these days — you will get out of this one 
all right, take my word for it.” 

“ I hope I shall,” said Rufus, “ and if I do 
— well, you’ll see. But there is one thing you 
haven’t told me yet,” he added. “ How does 
it happen that you are here instead of lying 
in Boston jail ? ” 

“ Well,” laughed Humfrey, “ as for being 


240 With Puritan and Pequot 

here, I came with a message from Captain 
Underhill to Mr. Gardiner. And as to the 
matter of the jail, why, that was Governor 
Vane’s doing. A few days after your escape 
— I was blamed, of course, for not giving the 
alarm — Elias Blades and the warrant-officer 
took me back to Boston. I was put in my 
father’s charge for a time, and then one even- 
ing came the Governor to speak with me. 
^ You’re a most troublesome fellow. Master 
Brewster,’ said he, very grave and stern, ^ and 
I hear you’ve been setting the laws of Massa- 
chusetts at defiance. I’ve been vexing myself 
for the last week to know what to do with 
you. It seems a pity to clap you in jail.’ ^ If 
you please, sir,’ I spoke up — ’twas the day 
after we’d had the news of John Oldham’s 
murder — ‘ If you please, sir, give me a firelock 
and send me to fight the Pequots.’ ‘ Why ! 
there’s a way out of the difficulty,’ he cried. 

* Go you shall, and look to it I have good re- 
port of you.’ That was all. The Governor 
spoke for me, and I was enrolled on the force. 
’Tis a fine trade, soldiering, and I intend to 
stick to it.” 

'' I shall follow it myself, if they’ll let me,” 


With Puritan and Pequot 241 

vowed Rufus. “ Tell me, is there any word 
of Roger Williams? 

“ He still abides and preaches at Salem,’’ 
Humfrey replied, “ and as fearless as ever, 
breeding discord and dissension. His influ- 
ence grows, and ’tis whispered that the magis- 
trates will shortly bring him to trial before 
the General Court. As for my father, he’s 
been an altered man since this trouble, and is 
thinking seriously of moving to the Connec- 
ticut River settlements. He is in some dis- 
favor at Boston, even with Governor Vane. 
But he has other reasons as well for the step. 
Several of his friends have emigrated to Hart- 
ford and Windsor, and my mother’s uncle — 
you’ll remember Caleb Stagg — has sold his 
homestead and is going with his two sons to 
Wethersfleld next spring. Governor Win- 
throp is a liberal-minded man, and the laws 
are not enforced so strictly in the Connecticut 
Valley.” 

’Tis a wonder, then, that any people are 
left in the Bay towns,” said Rufus, with a 
yawn. 

On the following day the two lads went 
with Sir Lanslott and Mr. Gardiner to Bos- 


242 With Puritan and Pequot 

ton. The town was all astir with talk of the 
Pequot uprising and the preparations to meet 
it. Sir Lanslott could not at once get a hear- 
ing for his young friend and Rufus, having 
at once given himself up upon his arrival, 
spent a number of anxious days in the jail. 
And not the least of his troubles was the fact 
that while he lay there inactive Humfrey was 
off with the force that Captain Underhill led 
to Block Island to strike the first blow at the 
savages. 

But a brighter day dawned at last. On the 
very afternoon that Boston was rejoicing over 
the return of the Underhill expedition, which 
had been quite successful, Sir Lanslott 
Charmion succeeded at length in getting the 
ear of some important persons in the town. 
That evening Rufus was quietly escorted to 
the residence of the chief magistrate, where 
he found Sir Lanslott with the young Gov- 
ernor. With tears in his eyes the nobleman 
had told the Governor what the boy had 
done, and of his own obligation to him. 

“ ’Tis such a debt as I can never hope to 
discharge,^^ he continued to Rufus, “ though 
Pve made a beginning by asking Mr. Vane to 


With Puritan and Pequot 243 

grant you a full pardon, to which he gra- 
ciously assents. But I wish to do much 
more. Bm assured by Master Nathaniel 
Brewster that you write a clerkly hand, and 
that you’ve benefited by his scholarly teach- 
ings ” 

“ Don’t spoil him,” broke in Governor 
Vane, half in jest. “ Slife ! he’s clearly 
meant for a soldier.” 

‘‘ And that is what I would be, sir, above 
all things,” Rufus boldly declared. 

“ So you shall, so you shall,” vowed Sir 
Lanslott. “ Ay, a soldier of the King. I’ll 
see to it. Directly you come back to Boston 
— you’ll want to go home to visit your father 
for a time — I’ll find occupation for you as my 
secretary. And when I return to England — 
which may not be until the spring — I’ll take 
you with me and charge myself with the 
career that you’ve decided to follow. And 
’tis a commendable choice, my lad. His Maj- 
esty’s commission is as good as signed and in 
your pocket, I promise you. Nay, don’t try 
to thank me — the gratitude is on my side. 
Do I understand that you accept the 
offer?” 


244 With Puritan and Pequot 

Hast nothing to say, Master Jennicom ? ” 
cried the Governor. 

Dazzled by the radiant vista that had 
opened before him, by the unlooked-for mu- 
nificence of his noble patron and the assur- 
ance that his wildest dreams were to be real- 
ized, Rufus was at first struck speechless. 

I should be an ungrateful churl to think 
of it,” exclaimed the lad at last. I’ve no 
fitting words, sir — your kindness chokes me. 
But — but ril prove myself worthy.” 

‘‘ I’m sure of that,” said Sir Lanslott. The 
matter is settled, then. And if you serve 
Charles Stuart as gallantly and unselfishly as 
you’ve served my daughter, why, there’s no 
telling how high you may rise.” 

News, good or bad, travels quickly, and 
the full account of his stirring adventures 
preceded Rufus to Plymouth, where with two 
exceptions — Jeremy Quills and Seth Dymett 
held sullenly aloof — his neighbors had only 
praise and amiable feeling for him. Carver 
Jennicom gave his son an affectionate, fatherly 
.welcome, and made no allusion whatever to 
the past, which he had resolved to put from 
his thoughts as far as was possible. 


With Puritan and Pequot 245 

My son, have you chosen wisely in ac- 
cepting this offer?’’ he asked. Reflect. 
Search your heart well. It is not too 
late ” 

“ My word is given,” Rufus broke in. 
“ ’Tis the chance of a lifetime, and I’ll not re- 
fuse it. A soldier I’m determined to be, one 
way or another. Father, you will surely not 
deny your consent? ” 

And if I did?” 

I should go back to Boston jail. Gov- 
ernor Vane’s pardon was conditional — it was 
granted with the understanding that Sir 
Lanslott was to have the shaping of my 
future.” 

So much I gather from the letters of Sir 
Lanslott and the Governor,” assented Jenni- 
com, with a sigh. “ Nay, I’ll not refuse. Do 
as you wish. But promise me one thing, that 
you will return here before you sail for Eng- 
land. I shall have something of importance 
to say to you then.” 

Rufus willingly made the promise, and the 
subject was not again referred to. Time 
passed all too swiftly for Carver Jennicom, 
and too slowly for the lad, who, at the expi- 


246 With Puritan and Pequot 

ration of five weeks, bade farewell to his 
Plymouth friends and journeyed to Boston in 
the pleasant autumn weather. At once he 
entered upon his new duties, which took him 
each morning to the Governor’s house. He 
lodged with Nathaniel Brewster, and as his 
afternoons and evenings were his own, he 
spent them with Humfrey and Bose. Annis 
was occasionally in their company, for she 
had taken an impulsive fancy to the little 
Puritan maid, and the two were fast friends. 

Though on the whole the Pequots refrained 
from active hostilities, several stragglers of the 
Connecticut settlements were murdered dur- 
ing the early weeks of that autumn of 1636. 
This had no effect on Nathaniel Brewster, and 
he went steadily forward with his plans for 
emigrating in the spring. But Sir Lanslott 
Charmion had the welfare of the colonies 
deeply at heart, and moreover, having been a 
soldier at one time, he welcomed the prospect 
of bearing arms again in defense of England’s 
territory ; so, believing that an Indian war 
was not far distant, he decided to prolong his 
stay until the following year, and gave sound 
reasons for the same in a lengthy communica- 


With Puritan and Pequot 247 

tion which he despatched to his royal master. 
For the present he took no steps — and it is 
doubtful if any were possible — toward bring- 
ing Vaylmer Laplash and his companions to 
justice ; nor had he any knowledge concern- 
ing them, save the fact that they had made 
their way to New Amsterdam. 

On the 3d of September occurred an event 
of general interest to both of the coast colo- 
nies, and to the inland settlements as well. 
For on that date — Rufus was at Plymouth at 
the time — Roger Williams was tried before 
the General Court at Boston, and was ordered 
to leave the country within six weeks. But a 
little later, through the influence of the few 
faithful friends who clung to him, the execu- 
tion of the decree of banishment was post- 
poned until the spring. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


IN WHICH CAPTAIN UNDERHILL RECEIVES WRIT- 
TEN ORDERS AND RUFUS LEARNS A SECRET 

After a spell of mild and thawing weather, 
with alternate bursts of sunshine and hard 
downpours of rain, the wind had suddenly*, 
shifted to another quarter and brought in its 
train a frost of great severity. A flurry of 
snow had fallen that morning, to lie in a film 
of glittering whiteness, and there was promise 
of more to follow in the low, massed clouds 
that reflected their leaden hue on the moan- 
ing waters of the harbor. 

Rufus Jennicom sat busily writing while 
the short December afternoon crept by. He 
was engaged on a special task, having some 
documents to transcribe for Sir Lanslott, who 
wished to despatch the copies by a vessel that 
was to sail for London on the morrow. 
Hedged about from intrusion, the young 
secretary worked with zeal and haste, hoping 

248 


With Puritan and Pequot 249 

to finish before darkness should set in. He 
was bent forward in a high-backed chair, and 
his paper and quills, inkhorn and pounce- 
box, were spread on the deep window-seat, 
which made an admirable desk. Behind him 
rose a tall screen of tapestry portraying the 
chase of the boar, and to the left a wood-fire 
blazed on the open hearth, and flashed coy, 
rosy glances at the oak paneling of the room, 
and the grim figure in armor, and the buck- 
ler and broadsword that hung above it. 

An echo of girlish voices reached Rufus 
now and then. Sir Lanslott and his daughter 
were staying at the Governor’s house, and 
Rose Brewster was spending the day with 
Annis. From time to time, to ease his wearied 
eyes, Rufus lifted them to the lattice window. 
Through the panes he saw the gaunt and leaf- 
less trees nodding in the wind ; the royal 
standard swaying idly over the gateway ; the 
vista of trim garden-paths and naked shrub- 
bery, with brown rose-bushes shivering on one 
side, and on the other rows of cabbage-stalks 
poking their frost-bitten heads above the pow- 
dery patches of snow. 

A servant presently brought candles, but 


2^0 With Puritan and Pequot 

there was no need to light them. As the 
shades of evening began to fall the lad’s hand 
traveled more rapidly and the quill went 
oftener to the ink-pot. He could still see to 
write the final words, and then, his monoto- 
nous task completed, he leaned comfortably 
back in the chair and closed his twitching 
eyelids. He knew nothing more until a rip- 
ple of laughter called him to his senses, and 
brought him upright with a jerk. The logs 
had burned low, and the soft, red glow of the 
embers revealed the two girls standing over 
him. 

“ I fear I’ve been asleep,” he exclaimed con- 
fusedly. “ ’Twas the heat of the fire.” 

“ I am sorry we wakened you,” Annis said 
demurely. ‘‘ My father sent me to fetch the 
papers, if you have finished.” 

They are quite ready,” he replied, and 
handed the sheaf of documents to Annis, who 
tripped out of the room with them. 

Rose perched herself in the corner of the 
window-seat, and Rufus, rising to his feet, 
stood near her. For a moment they gazed 
silently into the garden, where now the night 
had fallen darkly. 


With Puritan and Pequot 251 

You are tired,” said the girl. ‘‘ Have you 
worked very hard ? ” 

Well, it makes one’s back ache,” Rufus 
admitted. “ I mustn’t complain, though, for 
I’m going through what Governor Vane calls 
my term of probation. But I wouldn’t stick 
to it all my life — no, not for the wealth of El 
Dorado. Ah, Rose, think of it ! To go to 
England, and wear the King’s uniform, and 
swagger about among the rare sights of 
London ! ” 

You could be just as good a soldier here, 
Rufus.” 

Nay, you’re wrong,” he exclaimed scorn- 
fully. “ What chance would I have in the 
colonies, as compared with England ? I’m to 
start with an officer’s commission — Sir Lans- 
lott promises that — and I shall choose the 
cavalry and ride a spirited horse. But it 
won’t be all play. War may break out in 
foreign parts, and then I’ll be sent to the 
Continent, and will charge the enemy at the 
head of a troop ” 

“ I wish you were not going. You will for- 
get your old friends when you are over the 


252 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Forget them ? Never that. You’ll see, 
Rose. I shall come back some day with a 
fierce mustache, and a few scars won in 
battle.” 

“ If you dare to have a great, ugly mus- 
tache ” Rose interrupted. 

They both laughed, and with that they 
heard crunching footsteps on the gravel out- 
side. As quickly the house-door was thrown 
open, and the next instant Governor Vane 
and a companion entered the room, the 
former bearing a lighted candle that he had 
taken from a bench in the hall. 

I hardly looked for you so soon,” the 
Governor was saying. “ But I am glad you 
are prompt, for the minutes are precious. You 
got my message. Captain Underhill ? ” 

Ay, sir,” was the reply, “ and deeming it 
urgent I came with all speed.” 

“ You did well. I have secret and impor- 
tant instructions for you.” 

Without a glance toward the window, else 
they must have discovered the two shadowy 
figures standing there, the speakers passed 
on to an adjoining apartment, in which Gov- 
ernor Vane was wont to transact business of 


With Puritan and Pequot 253 

state. Leaving the door halfway open, he sat 
down to his desk and began to write. 

Come, let us go quietly,^’ urged Rose. 

They will see us if we do,'’ whispered 
Rufus, who was peeping over the top of the 
screen. “ The light shines clear to the 
hall, and Captain Underhill is facing that 
way.” 

As he spoke, murmuring the words at the 
girl's ear, the Governor's voice rose distinctly 
and gave them a start. 

There is an end of forbearance at last,'' 
said he. The matter in hand concerns 
Roger Williams.'' 

“ I judged as much, sir,'' said Captain 
Underhill. 

“ And you are to seize his person this very 
night,'' added the Governor, and went on with 
his writing. 

Rufus drew a sharp breath, and he and 
Rose looked guiltily at each other in the 
dusky glow of the firelight. It was purely 
through mischance and thoughtlessness that 
they had come to play the part of eaves- 
droppers, but now, after what they had 
already learned, they dared not risk almost 


254 With Puritan and Pequot 

certain discovery, and charges which they 
could not easily refute, by attempting a tardy 
flight. Nor was the lad, at least, in any haste 
to be gone. 

Hush ! he whispered. Be as still as a 
mouse.” 

For nearly a minute the scratching of the 
quill in the next room, as it ran from line to 
line, was the only sound to be heard by the 
two behind the screen. 

IVe just presided at a special session of 
the court,” said Governor Vane, ‘‘ and in 
view of the growing popularity and influence 
of Roger Williams, and the steps he is taking 
to found a new settlement in or close to his 
Majesty’s dominions of New England — we 
have fresh information on that point — the 
magistrates have annulled the former order 
against him and voted for extreme measures.” 
He sprinkled sand on the writing and folded 
the paper twice. “ Here is your authority, 
duly signed,” he continued. ‘‘ You will pro- 
ceed straightway to Salem, arrest Williams 
and fetch him to Boston, and without delay 
put him on board the Virginia Merchant, by 
which he will be conveyed to England. The 


With Puritan and Pequot 255 

vessel lies ready in the harbor, and sails to- 
morrow/’ 

’Tis short enough notice,” replied Cap- 
tain Underhill. “ How am I to get to 
Salem?” 

“ As you think best.” 

“ Then I’ll borrow Gurtred Toothaker’s 
sloop and travel by water. The moon will be 
up by and by, and what wind there is blows 
from the right quarter.” 

“ I meant to suggest something of the sort,” 
said the Governor. Be sure to take a couple 
of deputies with you, but on no account divulge 
a word of your plans, even to them, until you 
have put to sea. Williams has numerous 
friends in Boston, and there’s reason to believe 
that he is prepared to take to flight at a mo- 
ment’s warning.” 

I might go on horseback, sir.” 

No, the sloop will be better. How soon 
can you start ? ” 

“ Within two hours at most.” 

“ That will do. I rely on your discretion 
and zeal. Captain Underhill.” 

There will be no hitch, sir. But I could 
wish that I was bound on a more pleasant 


256 With Puritan and Pequot 

errand. Tm sorry for this misguided young 
minister.” 

“Not more sorry than I am,” Governor 
Vane declared earnestly. “ Indeed, ’tis a 
thousand pities, and yet greater leniency was 
never shown to any man. He has brought 
his fate on himself.” 

“ His fate? Then he is to be tried ” 

“ Ay, in London. And so surely as spring 
follows winter he will be condemned and exe- 
cuted. I know the temper of those who will 
judge him, and I know also that Archbishop 
Laud ” 

His voice suddenly became inaudible, and 
the streak of yellow light vanished ; for Cap- 
tain Underhill, at a hasty sign from the Gov- 
ernor, had closed the door of the inner apart- 
ment. 

“ Now is our chance,” whispered Rufus. 
“ Come ! ” 

They glided swiftly and noiselessly to the 
hall, where candles were burning, and thence 
to an empty room on the opposite side. 

“ How cruel men are ! ” Rose said distress- 
fully. “ They are going to arrest poor Roger 
Williams and send him to England. Do 


With Puritan and Pequot 257 

you really believe that he will be put to 
death ? 

“ He won’t if I can prevent it,” vowed the 
lad. 

“ Rufus ! what will you do ? ” 

He did not answer at once. His thoughts 
were back in the past, far in the forest, and in 
spirit he was living over again the events of 
that black and stormy night when a musket- 
shot, fired in the very nick of time, had 
rescued Hurnfrey and himself from the 
clutches of the pursuing panther. The girl 
repeated her question. 

“ Don’t ask me what I think of doing,” the 
lad replied hoarsely. ’Tis best that you 
should know nothing. But this I will re- 
mind you of. Rose. Roger Williams saved 
my life and your brother’s, at the risk of his 
own. Can I do less for him?” 

“ Oh ! I think I understand. But the 
danger ! And your prospects, Rufus ? ” 

I trust I shan’t be found out, and I won’t 
be if all goes well. Hush ! Annis is coming.” 

They quickly entered the hall, and a mo- 
ment afterward Sir Lanslott and his daughter 
descended the staircase. 


CHAPTER XIX 


IN WHICH RUFUS RIDES TO HIS FATE 

It was now between six and seven o’clock, 
and when Rufus and Rose set off for home a 
few minutes later, the Governor and Captain 
Underhill were still in private consultation 
and had just sent word to Sir Lanslott to join 
them. The walk through the frosty night 
was a brief and silent one. 

“If I’m not down at the usual time to- 
morrow you must call me,” said Rufus, as 
they reached the gate ; and the girl under- 
stood him perfectly. 

There were two circumstances, as it fortu- 
nately happened, which immensely favored 
his designs. He was to sleep alone that night, 
for the same morning Caleb Stagg’s son 
Reuben had arrived in Boston on an errand 
for his father, and after dinner he and Hum- 
frey had started off to visit a boy friend of 
the latter’s at Charlestown. They had gone 
on foot and by boat, and consequently Reuben 

258 


With Puritan and Pequot 259 

Stagg’s horse, a sturdy young animal, was at 
the present moment munching hay in the lit- 
tle stable. 

It seemed to Rose and Rufus that the even- 
ing would never end. But at last the tall 
clock in the corner indicated a quarter to 
nine, and Nathaniel Brewster reached for his 
Bible, from which he read a chapter aloud 
and followed it with a short prayer. Rising 
from his knees he began to put back the half- 
charred logs from the fire-dogs. 

Tis bedtime,” he said. “ Art tired, 
Rufus? You seem so.” 

“ A little,” replied the lad, whose nervous- 
ness had been growing more and more appar- 
ent. I was writing hard all the afternoon.” 

The opportunity was welcome. Rufus 
yawned, picked up a lighted candle, and de- 
parted with a calm “ good-night.” Before 
leaving the room he glanced furtively at 
Rose, who lifted her eyes to his with a look 
in them that he was to recall many and many 
a time in the future. Then he ascended to 
his bed-chamber, and waited until he heard 
the family come up-stairs, when he extin- 
guished his candle and opened the window. 


26 o With Puritan and Pequot 

‘‘ The sloop will have started by this time,” 
the lad reflected. ‘‘ But there’s hardly enough 
breeze to All the sail, unless ’tis stronger at 
sea. ’Twill be a slow cruise, and I shall easily 
outdistance them.” 

For a brief moment he faltered in his heroic 
purpose, shrank from the price that he might 
be called upon to pay, as he thought of his 
cherished hopes and ambitions, of the glorious 
career that his feet had begun to tread. As 
quickly the weakness passed, and he put the 
ignoble impulse from him. He owed his life 
to Roger Williams, who now was threatened 
by as deadly a peril. At any cost he must 
requite the debt of gratitude, warn and save 
the young minister. 

“ I can and will do it,” he vowed. No- 
body will suspect that ’twas 1. None will 
think to question me afterward. They need 
not even know that Roger Williams had 
warning.” 

He had long since formed his plans in 
minute detail. Though Salem was only 
fourteen miles to the northeast of Boston as a 
bird flies, he must make a considerable detour 
westward to avoid the wide lower reaches of 


With Puritan and Pequot ^6i 

the Charles and Mystic Rivers. The inland 
parts of those streams, he felt sure, were 
tightly frozen, and he could cross on the ice. 
Twenty miles each way the journey would be, 
but he was sanguine of covering the round 
distance in six hours, and thus reaching home 
by four or five o’clock in the morning, before 
his absence could be discovered. There was 
light to guide him, and he was not afraid of 
losing his bearings. The hard, wind-swept 
ground would leave no telltale tracks. As 
for the horse, it was not to be ridden on the 
morrow, and a vigorous rubbing down, di- 
rectly he returned, would remove all outward 
traces of fatigue and recent usage. 

It wanted a quarter to ten, or thereabouts, 
when Rufus judged that it was safe to start. 
The house was dark and silent as, with steady 
nerves, he slipped from the room in his stock- 
ing feet and noiselessly groped his way down 
the stairs. Here he put on his shoes, donned 
cloak and hat and thick gloves, and a mo- 
ment later was standing in the garden with 
the door quietly shut upon him. 

Fortunately the stable was at the end of a 
long enclosure that stretched back of the 


262 With Puritan and Pequot 

house, which itself was on the southern out- 
skirts of the town. Near by was a gate set in 
the palisade, and having opened this the lad 
saddled and bridled the horse and led it from 
the stall. 

Softly, softly. Firefly,” he whispered. 

The intelligent animal seemed to under- 
stand the need of caution, and with little or 
no noise it walked daintily out of the paddock, 
into the grassy lane. 

Not a sound was to be heard, not a ray of 
light to be seen. All Boston was apparently 
wrapped in slumber. Rufus closed the gate and 
set off on foot, carefully leading the horse, and 
avoiding the occasional spots where little 
patches of snow lay in white furrows. 

It was a most formidable task that Rufus 
had set himself — how formidable he did not 
realize at the beginning — and it must have 
proved an impossible one but for several 
things that were in his favor. The night was 
not dark, and he had a powerful and willing 
horse. Moreover he had been twice to Salem, 
and from personal knowledge and hearsay he 
was familiar with the lay of the country be- 
tween that little town and Boston. Even 


With Puritan and Pequot 263 

with these telling advantages, however, he 
fell widely short of his calculations ; for when 
he finally reached the bridle-path leading 
straight to his destination, after he had 
crossed the Charles and the Mystic, traversed 
the lonely and rugged woodlands that stretched 
eastward from the latter river, the time must 
have been all of one o’clock in the morning. 
So much he judged, but the fact did not daunt 
him, nor did he see any reason to despair of 
accomplishing the return journey within safe 
limits. 

The worst is over ; it will be easy going 
now,” he told himself hopefully. “ A beaten 
road is vastly different from what I’ve come 
through. I ought to get to Salem by another 
hour — ’tis well under twelve miles — and if I 
start back at once I should be home by six 
o’clock or earlier.” 

At a dangerous gallop, with loose reins, he 
dashed along the narrow, winding trail. It 
seemed to fly up to meet him, whirled past 
with a thud of hoof-beats striking like iron on 
frozen moss and sward. Out of the deep 
gloom on both sides misshapen boulders 
loomed and vanished. Leafless trees reached 


264 With Puritan and Pequot 

shivering arms toward him as he bent low in 
the saddle, and evergreen foliage sought to 
drag him off. Yet a third river intervened — 
he touched it where was a fording-place in 
summer — and the rough ice snapped and 
grumbled as he pounded over it. 

“ Faster ! faster ! Rufus urged the faithful 
steed. We must save him, Firefly. We 
must.’’ 

Twice, drawing near to an isolated settle- 
ment, the lad lost time by making a detour 
through the timber. Then back to the trail 
again, and on and on, at a furious pace, while 
mile after mile of ghostly forest reeled behind. 
Mocking voices — he could scarcely persuade 
himself that it was a delusion — dinned and 
bellowed at his ears. Real enough was the 
howling of wolves at a distance, and presently 
befell a more dreaded peril close at hand, when 
some wild beast gave hot chase from the rear, 
first making its presence known by a blood- 
curdling scream. 

The horse, snorting and plunging with 
terror, tore at a mad, unrestrained gallop. 
But of a sudden the creature’s cries ceased ; it 
had evidently given up the chase. Directly 


With Puritan and Pequot 265 

ahead a gray, arched patch of light was 
visible, and a minute later Rufus was within 
sight of Salem. 

The trail approached the town from the 
westward, and ended on the brink of a frozen 
stream. Here the lad stiffly dismounted, his 
throbbing heart filled with gratitude, and 
having tied the perspiring horse to a sapling 
and spread a blanket over him, he hurried 
across the ice. Two hundred yards brought 
him to the young minister’s house, which was 
on the verge of the settlement, and partly en- 
closed by pine-trees. Reassured by the silence 
he cast a pebble against an upper window, and 
it was quickly thrown open. 

Who’s below?” demanded a familiar 
voice. 

’Tis Rufus Jennicom,” the lad replied. 

I’ve come from Boston to tell you ” 

I will be down directly,” was the hasty 
interruption. 

The window slid shut, and within five min- 
utes Roger Williams was at the door, already 
dressed, to listen to the story that Rufus told 
him in a few short sentences. 

“ My enemies are very determined and 


266 With Puritan and Pequot 

merciless,” he said. “ God forgive them ! — 
they know not what they do. My brave lad, 
I’ve no words to thank you. Do not wait, 
but be off at once, lest you suffer heavily for 
my sake. I shall seek refuge in the forest, 
for though my endurance is strong and my 
patience great, I would resist to the death 
rather than be put on shipboard and sent to 
England. I had intended to take to flight on 
the morrow — an intimation reached me sev- 
eral days ago — and at the present moment I 
liave three trusty comrades in the house, who 
have chosen to share my exile. May heaven 
bless and keep you ! I did not expect the 
blow to fall so soon, and by your timely 
warning ” 

He was interrupted by the friends referred 
to, whom he had previously roused from 
sleep. They carried firelocks and wore cloaks 
and hats, and when the situation had been 
briefly explained to them they were for imme- 
diate departure. 

If the sloop left Boston at nine o’clock,” 
said one, it should have arrived by now.” 

“ It can’t be far off,” declared another, and 
who knows but Captain Underhill and his 



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FLASHED A LIGHT IN 
THE FACES OF THE GROUP 








With Puritan and Pequot 267 

deputies are already in the town and close 
upon us? ’’ 

“ Tis likely they are,” assented the min- 
ister. “ Twill be wise to set forth at once. 
Master Jennicom, tarry no longer, I pray 
you. May we meet in happier days, and till 
then I’ll bear the debt in mind.” 

With that he hastened into the house to 
bid farewell to his wife and children, and the 
next moment, when Rufus was on the point 
of starting, there was a sound of stealthy 
footsteps among the pine-trees, and as quickly 
a man’s form darted into view at a distance of 
a couple of yards. Whipping a lanthorn 
from beneath his cloak he flashed a light on 
the faces of the startled little group, and at 
the same time the yellow rays revealed his 
own identity — outlined the sour, forbidding 
features of Elias Blades. 

Ha ! it seems I’ve come none too soon,” 
he exclaimed. Why, rot me if there ain’t 
young Jennicom ! Didst fly hither on wings, 
boy ? In the King’s name I charge you all 
to submit ” 

Silence,” commanded one of the minis- 
ter’s friends, in a low voice, as he leveled his 


268 With Puritan and Pequot 

musket at the Boston constable’s head. 

Make no outcry, and stir not, else assuredly 
you will never serve warrant again.” 

It was no empty threat, and Elias Blades 
prudently heeded it, holding the lanthorn in a 
trembling hand. The next instant appeared 
Roger Williams, his countenance gray with 
the bitterness of parting from his loved ones. 

“ Art recognized, lad ? ” he whispered, 
grasping the situation at a glance. 

Ay, he called me by name.” 

“ Then you must come with us. I’m 
grieved beyond words, but you’ve no choice 
unless you wish to return to Boston and face 
the penalty of your heroism.” 

I’ll not do that,” Rufus vowed hoarsely. 

His decision was perforce immediate, as 
swift as the fell and unexpected stroke that 
had crumbled his hopes and vanities to ashes. 
With heart-breaking despair, in unspeakable 
anguish of spirit, he took to flight with the 
minister and his devoted companions. Al- 
most at once the little band of five reached 
the verge of the limitless forest and plunged 
into its welcome gloom, while behind them, 
growing ever fainter and fainter, rang the 


With Puritan and Pequot 269 

lusty bawling of Master Blades and the an- 
swering shouts of Captain Underhill and the 
rest of his men, who were approaching with 
all speed from the direction of the harbor. 


CHAPTER XX 


IN WHICH GOVERNOR VANE RECEIVES TIDINGS 
FROM THE WILDERNESS 

One cold and stormy night in the early 
part of the new year Mr. Harry Vane was en- 
gaged with a visitor in the paneled room to 
which the reader has already been introduced. 
In snug contrast to the inclement conditions 
without were the warmth and glow of the fire 
that roared high in the chimney-place, the 
thick draperies of the windows, and the pair 
of flaming candles that stood on the large, 
flat-topped desk. It had been a busy and try- 
ing day for the energetic young Governor, and 
a mass of untouched work was still heaped 
before him. He must finish ere he slept, yet 
for the moment he had brushed the task 
lightly from his mind, and Avas all-absorbed 
in a lengthy communication indited in the 
neat and scholarly penmanship of his col- 
league of New Plymouth. 

The visitor sat stiffly on the edge of his 

270 


With Puritan and Pequot 271 

chair, his eyes bent gloomily to the floor, and 
his hands fldgeting with his steeple-crowned 
hat. There was unbroken silence in the room 
until the Governor, putting down the closely- 
written sheets, looked thoughtfully across the 
desk at his companion. 

“ Master Jennicom,’^ said the younger man, 
I perceive that you have, and no doubt de- 
servedly, the sympathy and best wishes of 
Governor Bradford. You have mine as well, 
be assured. But more than that I cannot 
offer you, though you are most heartily com- 
mended to my good offices. In the flrst place 
I’ve had not a word, not a rumor, concerning 
your son since he fled with Roger Williams 
six weeks ago. And in the second place, to 
grant him another pardon would be a gross 
and impossible misuse of my prerogative. 
Indeed, ’tis not to be thought of for an in- 
stant ; nor does Mr. Bradford urge it in his 
letter.” 

I — I hoped that Rufus might be allowed 
to return to my roof, where I would be re- 
sponsible for him,” Carver Jennicom replied 
sadly. Yet I had no right to expect such a 
boon. His heart is not at fault ” 


272 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Nay, ’tis his hasty judgment, which leaps 
before discretion,” the Governor interrupted. 
“ ’Twas from a sense of gratitude, I believe, 
that he threw away a career any man in these 
colonies might have envied. The patronage 
of Sir Lanslott Charmion is not a thing to be 
despised.” 

“ I did not approve of Rufus going to Eng- 
land, sir.” 

“ ’Twould have been the making of him. 
However, he’s lost the chance, and there’s an 
end of it. To put the matter plainly. Master 
Jennicom, your son has committed a mad and 
unlawful act, and you should be content to 
know that for the present he is beyond reach 
of the consequences of his crime. I’m not 
blind to the lad’s sterling qualities. He may 
redeem himself.” 

‘‘ He is all I have, sir,” said Jennicom. 
“ Next to the welfare of the community, I’ve 
lived only for him. From his childhood I’ve 
spared neither admonition, precept, nor ex- 
ample.” 

‘‘ Whereby you’ve shown him but the 
gloomy and narrow side of a code of life that 
is none too cheerful at its best. Your Puritan 


With Puritan and Pequot 273 

tenets, if I may pass an opinion, have a lean- 
ing toward despotism.” 

I cannot agree with you, sir. But come 
what may, God’s will be done. I must bow 
to his decree.” 

There was a pause in the conversation, and 
before it could be resumed Annis Charmion 
opened the door and glided into the room, 
evidently supposing that the Governor was 
alone. At the sight of Jennicom, who re- 
garded this vision of worldly beauty with a 
cold and severe glance, the girl started back. 

‘‘ Oh, I beg your pardon, sir,” she exclaimed 
confusedly. “ I did not know — I wanted to 
ask if you had any news of my father.” 

None, my child,” replied Mr. Vane, with 
a smile, ‘‘ and indeed, ’tis too soon to look for 
any. ’Twill be good news when it comes.” 

“ I hope it will. Thank you so much, and 
please forgive my indiscretion.” 

With a graceful curtsy Mistress Annis with- 
drew, and the Governor fumbled for a mo- 
ment with his papers. 

That young lady,” remarked Jennicom, 
has helped to turn my boy’s head with her 
airs and fripperies.” 


274 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Faith ! she^s turned mine as well, and lit- 
tle wonder,” laughed the Governor. ‘‘ Her 
father, as perhaps you are aware, left Boston 
ten days ago to confer with Mr. Winslow re- 
garding the defenses of the Connecticut Val- 
ley settlements. Sir Lanslott is a keen sol- 
dier, and would see some fighting before he 
returns to England. For myself, I’m bound 
to hope he will be disappointed. Yet if war 
comes in the spring we must be prepared for it.” 

I pray the danger may pass,” replied Jen- 
nicom, as he rose from the chair. I will 
bid you good-evening, sir,” he added, “ since 
you’ve shown me the hopelessness of further 
entreaty ” 

Just then the iron hammer that hung at 
the portal of the house gave two low, quick 
raps. The door was heard to open almost 
immediately, and the next instant appeared 
Mr. Vane’s bond-servant, looking decidedly 
agitated and surprised. 

Some one desires to speak with you, sir,” 
he announced. 

Who is it ? ” asked the Governor. 

''He gave no name, sir. His business is 
important.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 275 

“ But do you know him, Peter ? ” 

The man nodded meaningly, stepped closer, 
and whispered several words at his master’s 
ear. The Governor changed countenance and 
started visibly. He pondered with knitted 
brows. 

I will receive this person,” he intimated. 

Detain him for a half-minute, Peter. You 
can’t well go now. Master Jennicom,” he 
added, directly the servant had vanished. I 
must beg that you will consent to put your- 
self in my hands for a brief time. Will you 
kindly withdraw yonder,” indicating the pri- 
vate apartment adjoining, “ and be careful 
not to betray your presence, no matter what 
you may see or hear. ’Tis a strange request, 
but I’ve sound reason for it.” 

“You need not fear, sir, that I shall pry 
into your affairs.” 

“ Nay, you misunderstand me. I propose 
that you shall witness whatever takes place.” 

“ Very good, sir.” 

A few seconds later the old man was hid- 
den behind the partly-closed door, and none 
too soon. The mysterious visitor entered the 
outer room from the hall, and as he doffed 


276 With Puritan and Pequot 

his hat and threw open the folds of his cloak, 
the candle-light revealed the features of Rufus 
Jennicom. 

With head slightly bent in humility, a look 
of quiet confidence on his face, the lad stood 
between the fireplace and the desk, waiting 
for the other to speak. Governor Vane fixed 
him with a cold eye, and wore his most for- 
bidding frown — which cost him an effort to 
assume and hold. He had already rehearsed 
in mind the part he intended to play, and 
hugely relished the situation, with its ele- 
ments of a comedy. 

Sink me ! but this almost exceeds belief,’' 
he exclaimed in a harsh voice. “ You’ve the 
audacity to come back to Boston — to walk 
boldly into my very presence. Ha ! I have it. 
You’re tired of the privations of winter and 
the company of your fellow-rogues, and would 
barter your unlawful freedom for food and 
warmth.” 

“ Nay, sir, you are wrong,” broke in the 
lad. “ I assure you ” 

“ Not a word, sirrah,” commanded the Gov- 
ernor, who was thinking the while if he might 
risk sending the young offender to Plymouth 


With Puritan and Pequot 277 

on parole. “ Pray be seated till I summon the 
constable to escort you round to the jail ; 
and he reached out his arm toward a bell- 
rope. 

“ Stop, sir,” begged Rufus. “ Pve a letter 
for you. Will you read it first, and then, if 

you’re in the same mind ” 

A letter ? From whom ? ” 

From Roger Williams. Here it is, sir.” 

The Governor took the packet of coarse, 
rough paper, and directly he had unfolded it 
and cast his eye down the contents — which 
appeared to have been scrawled with a pointed 
stick dipped in liquid red ochre — he began to 
see that his surmises had fiown wide of the 
mark. 

Why ! what’s this ? ” he cried with a ris- 
ing infiection. “ The Pequots seeking to form 
an alliance with the Narragansetts — emissaries 
already on their way to the lodge of Canoni- 
cus — imminent danger of the two powerful 
tribes uniting against the Connecticut Valley 
settlements — offer of mediation if I see fit to 
authorize it. If I see fit. Why, good 

heavens, ’tis the only chance ” The 

Governor flourished the letter in the lad’s 


278 With Puritan and Pequot 

face. “ I suppose there’s no doubt about the 
information ? ” be added hoarsely. 

“ None, sir,” replied Rufus. “ Tis just as 
Roger Williams states. He is now in the 
Narragansett country.” 

And he sent you from there ? — you’ve 
traveled miles through the snow-bound wil- 
derness to fetch the warning ? ” 

‘‘ I volunteered to come, instead of the 
Indian whom he would have despatched 
alone.” 

“ Knowing that you might be clapped in 
jail?” 

‘‘ I had no fear of that, sir, under the cir- 
cumstances. I knew that you would let me 
depart in safety.” 

And you were quite right, my brave lad,” 
exclaimed the Governor, proffering his hand 
to Rufus. “ In the name of the New Eng- 
land colonies I thank you for your services, 
nor personally shall I forget wRat you’ve 
done. As for Roger Williams, his generous 
nature is a rebuke to his enemies. If any 
man can save the situation,” he continued, as 
he paced the floor, ’tis this young minister 
of Salem. He lived for months among the 


With Puritan and Pequot 279 

Narragansetts. Upon my word, I’m half in- 
clined to believe that they will listen to him 
rather than to the Pequot envoys. When do 
you start back ? ” 

At once, sir. Every minute is precious. 
I’m instructed to return with all speed.” 

And so you shall. I’ll not detain you 
long.” 

Sitting down to his desk the Governor hur- 
riedly wrote a few lines, which he folded and 
sealed. 

For Roger Williams,” he said, handing 
the letter to Rufus. And urge him further, 
on my behalf, to use his best efforts to avert 
the threatened calamity. Also bid him let 
me know the result as soon as possible. I 
shall confer with the magistrates to-morrow, 
but I suppose ’tis out of the question to reach 
Williams by messenger.” 

I don’t know where you would find him, 
sir.” 

Nor would you tell me if you did. I un- 
derstand that. Do you journey back alone ? ” 

I have one companion, who is waiting at 
the edge of the town. With your leave I will 
be off now,” 


28o With Puritan and Pequot 

Stay ! Is there anything I can do for you 
and your fellow-fugitives ? Surely you^re in 
want, and suffering from the wintry weather/’ 
We need nothing, sir,” Rufus told him. 
“ But can you give me any news of my father? ” 
“ He is quite well,” replied the Governor, 
with an involuntary glance over his shoulder. 
And how does he bear the blow ? ” 

It has hit him hard, my boy.” 

“I’m sorry for that,” said Rufus. “ If ever 
you should see him will you ask him to for- 
give me. And tell him ” 

A lump rose to his throat, and he turned to 
the door. The Governor followed, and went 
as far as the gate at the end of the garden, 
where he parted from the lad with a few 
earnest and comforting words, and watched 
him vanish along the dark street. Then he 
returned to the house, and found Jennicom 
waiting in the outer room. The old man’s 
eyes were dim, his rugged features strangely 
softened. 

“ You heard all ? ” inquired Mr. Vane. 

“ Ay, sir, every word. My heart yearned 
to take the boy to my arms.” 

“ ’Twas for the best that you should not see 


With Puritan and Pequot 281 

him. Master Jennicom, there’s no need to 
worry about your son. Let him work out his 
own salvation.” 


CHAPTER XXI 


IN WHICH ROGEK WILLIAMS TAKES HIS LIFE 
IN HIS HANDS AND RUFUS DEPARTS FROM 
NARRAGANSETT BAY 

After weeks of aimless wandering through 
the forest in the dead of winter, succored 
alike by Wampanoags and Narragansetts, 
Roger Williams and his little band had 
chosen an abiding-place at the top of Narra- 
gansett Bay, between forty and fifty miles to 
the southwest of Boston and on the edge of 
the Plymouth grant. It was from here that 
Rufus and Shingascung — the faithful redskin 
had attached himself to the exiles — set forth 
on their warning mission to Mr. Vane, and 
hither they safely returned within three days 
of the lad’s dramatic interview with the young 
Governor of Massachusetts. 

The situation was urgent, time was short 
and precious. Scorning to hold resentment 
for the wrongs he had suffered at the hands of 
the New England authorities, counting not 


With Puritan and Pequot 283 

the frightful risk, the persecuted minister at 
once undertook to make good his proposal and 
play the part of intercessor. 

With Shingascung for sole companion, 
Roger Williams embarked in a canoe and 
paddled along the shores of the Sound to the 
village of Canonicus, the great Narragansett 
sachem. He found the Pequot envoys there 
before him, the blood of recently-murdered 
settlers of the Connecticut scarcely dried on 
their weapons, and so cunningly had they 
stated their case that already the Narragan- 
setts were beginning to waver. 

The arrival of Williams was most oppor- 
tune, though at first the chances seemed all 
against him. For three days and three 
nights, surrounded by ferocious enemies who 
thirsted to sink their tomahawks in his brain, 
his life literally hung in the balance. But in 
the end he prevailed. Having patiently heard 
and pondered both sides, the Narragansetts 
declared in favor of the self-constituted 
champion of the English and gave a blunt 
refusal to the warriors of the wily Sassacus, 
who, baffied and outwitted, betook themselves 
off in sullen rage. So there was to be no 


284 With Puritan and Pequot 

alliance of the two tribes against the settle- 
ments, and more than that, such was the 
potency of the young minister’s tongue, Ca- 
nonicus voluntarily told him how a successful 
war on the Pequots might best be waged and 
most quickly concluded. 

As soon as he dared safely leave the village, 
Williams set forth alone by water, and re- 
joined his anxious friends at the head of 
Narragansett Bay. He slept continuously for 
twenty-four hours, and then awoke at noon- 
tide to find Shingascung in the camp. The 
trusty redskin was the bearer of news — 
gleaned at second-hand from the disappointed 
ambassadors — that called for prompt endeavor 
if a massacre was to be averted. It seemed 
that the Pequots, feeling assured of the alli- 
ance with their powerful neighbors, had pre- 
viously made ready to strike a destructive 
blow. Bands of armed w^arriors, streaked 
with the black war-paint, were mustering in 
the wooded fastnesses adjoining the lower and 
middle reaches of the Connecticut River, and 
a large force was shortly to march upon the 
town of Wethersfield. 

Again Roger Williams proved himself a 


With Puritan and Pequot 285 

generous benefactor, and was as prompt to 
grapple with this fresh emergency as he had 
been to checkmate the Pequot envoys. By 
one of his friends he despatched a full report 
of all that had happened to Governor Vane, 
while another, accompanied by two Narra- 
gansetts, got through the danger zone to 
Hartford and warned Governor Winthrop of 
the intended raid. On similar purpose bent 
Rufus and Shingascung made their way to 
Say brook at the mouth of the Connecticut, 
and subsequently returned together, though 
Williams had intimated to the lad, for the 
sake of his future, that he would be well- 
advised to stop at the settlement and bear a 
part in any fighting that might occur. 

At an earlier date such an opportunity 
would have been eagerly welcomed by Rufus, 
but he now rejected it. For one thing he was 
loth to part from those whose lot he had 
elected to share in time of trial, and for an- 
other he did not quite know his own mind. 
Indeed, the hard and sacrificing existence he 
had led since the flight from Salem, the forti- 
tude and patience displayed by his compan- 
ions, and above all the heroic example and 


286 With Puritan and Pequot 

unselfish teachings of Roger Williams, could 
not have failed to impress the lad deeply. So 
he willingly came back with Shingascung to 
the little colony on Narragansett Bay, where 
meanwhile others were arriving to swell its 
numbers — men of the same earnest convic- 
tions who sought wider liberty of conscience 
and action, greater scope for religious beliefs, 
than were to be enjoyed under the strict laws 
of Massachusetts. 

Soon afterward Sassacus let slip his impa- 
tient levies, and the dreaded war-whoop 
echoed along the valley of the Connecticut. 
The red fiends descended swiftly, and toma- 
hawk and scalping-knife drank of English 
blood, but owing to the preparations that had 
been made beforehand the blow fell far short 
of its object. A few isolated settlers, caught 
unawares, were barbarously murdered. The 
little fort at Say brook, garrisoned by twenty 
men, gave a good account of itself and com- 
pelled the enemy to raise the siege. Weth- 
ersfield was attacked by a larger force and 
suffered severely. The situation had never 
been worse, and hope sank to a very low ebb. 
Just then, however, the Indians desisted from 


With Puritan and Pequot 287 

active hostilities — excepting the forays of a 
few small bands who roved the valley — and 
though the lull could only be regarded as the 
precursor of a storm, it permitted Governor 
Winthrop and his people to plan measures of 
retribution, in which they had the promise of 
substantial aid from the authorities of Boston 
and Plymouth. 

About this time — the winter was nearly at 
an end and the breath of early spring was 
over the land — a member of the Wampanoag 
tribe brought to Roger Williams a sealed com- 
munication which he had traveled many 
weary miles to deliver. It was from the Gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, and in addition to 
warm expressions of gratitude and friendship, 
and certain other matters of a private nature, 
it contained a lengthy and important allusion 
to Rufus. When the messenger had departed 
— he left the same day — Williams promptly 
sought an opportunity of speaking to the 
lad. 

I shall be sorry to lose you,^^ he began, as 
they strolled together toward the shore of the 
bay, “ but your fortunes have taken a fresh 
turn, and 'tis most advisable that we should 


288 With Puritan and Pequot 

part. Hereafter — I say it with regret — our 
paths in life will diverge again. 

“ Why must it be so? Rufus exclaimed in 
surprise. “ I’ve no wish to leave you.” 

“ ’Tis for your own good, my boy. You are 
called to higher things. As you know, I’ve 
just received a letter from Mr. Vane ” 

“ And he has sent for me? I am to return 
to Boston ? ” 

“ Nay, not that — as yet. But it is the Gov- 
ernor’s desire — he has already intimated as 
much to Mr. Winthrop — that you proceed to 
Hartford and report yourself to Captain 
Mason, who will enroll you in the force that 
is to take the field in the spring against the 
Pequots. And you’re to go by way of Weth- 
ersfield, where you should find some old 
friends. A considerable party, including Na- 
thaniel Brewster’s family and Caleb Stagg and 
his sons, left Boston a week ago for the Con- 
necticut settlements. They’ve chosen a bad 
time to emigrate, but as they are accompanied 
by an escort of soldiers they will probably 
reach their destinations in safety.” 

“ What do you think I ought to do ? ” asked 
Rufus, after an interval of silence. 


With Puritan and Pequot 289 

“ I’ve expressed my opinion,” replied Roger 
Williams. There can be no question about 
it. Tis clear that the Governor has virtually 
granted you a pardon. He wishes to give you 
another chance — an opportunity of regaining 
what you’ve lost. And you must take it. 
T would be folly to refuse.” 

“ Ay, and ungrateful,” assented Rufus. 

’Tis more than I’ve dared to hope for. I 
shall go, then, since you urge me to it.” 

Though he spoke soberly and without en- 
thusiasm, his flushed cheeks and sparkling 
eyes betrayed him, and showed how deeply 
his feelings were stirred. 

“ We will set forth to-morrow,” said the 
minister. Shingascung and I will bear you 
company to within a short distance of Weth- 
ersfleld. I am heartily glad, my boy,” he 
added, that you are no longer under the ban 
of outlawry, and that you are not to pay a 
heavier price for the noble act that confounded 
my enemies and saved me from being trans- 
ported to England in irons. And Mr. Vane’s 
offer means more, perhaps, than you are aware 
of. If the Governor forgives you in his mag- 
isterial capacity, can Sir Lanslott Charmion 


290 With Puritan and Pequot 

do less ? His patronage and good-will may be 
yours again/’ 

As he spoke Roger Williams scanned his 
companion wistfully and narrowly. He had 
dropped the last remarks with a purpose, for 
he took a more than fatherly interest in the 
high-spirited lad, and had long ago won his 
innermost confidence. But Rufus, whatever 
may have been in his mind, was not to be 
drawn. For a moment, with an absent ex- 
pression, he watched the gulls skimming over 
the gray waters of the bay. 

The chance is gone,” he said, ‘‘ and ’tis 
not easy to realize that I once had it. And 
’twould be foolish to expect that the future 
will undo all the past. Indeed, I do not be- 
lieve it, good Master Williams.” 

“Yet ’tis not impossible. Suppose the offer 
were to be renewed ? ” 

“ Governor Vane’s kindness is enough to 
think of at one time,” Rufus answered eva- 
sively. “ I shall try to deserve it.” 

By an early hour the following morning 
the three had begun their journey. Steadily 
and without fatigue the little group trod the 
wilderness in a northwesterly direction, and 


With Puritan and Pequot 291 


about sunset of the second day, having met 
with no mishap or adventure, they reached a 
stream which a few miles farther down flowed 
into the Connecticut River nearly opposite to 
the town of Wethersfleld. A canoe had been 
hid in the neighborhood by the messengers 
whom Williams had sent to Hartford earlier 
in the year. A short search brought it to 
light, and when Shingascung had assured his 
companions — after he returned from a prowl 
in the surrounding forest — that there were no 
Pequots in the vicinity, a small Are was kin- 
dled in a sandy spot at the base of a pile of 
rocks, which rose sheer to a flat ledge three 
or four yards above. On the remaining three 
sides bushes formed a thick screen, and strag- 
gled down to the water^s edge. 

The night fell darkly, and the wind 
dropped to a low, plaintive moan. The frugal 
supper having been prepared and eaten, Will- 
iams and the lad sat with their backs to the 
rock and their feet to the blazing pine-knots, 
while the Indian squatted near by, wakeful 
and alert, and stolidly blew clouds of smoke 
from his red-stone pipe. 

To-morrow we part,^’ said the minister. 


292 With Puritan and Pequot 

breaking an interval of thoughtful silence, 
you for Wethersfield and Hartford, Shing- 
ascung and I for the backward trail. I shall 
often think of you, my boy, as I strive for the 
good of my little colony in the wilderness. 
My prayers will go up for you, and I shall 
hope to learn something of your career from 
time to time. Great possibilities are within 
your reach. See that you avail yourself of 
them wisely, and to the best advantage. As 
you know, my boy, I have dined at rich men’s 
tables and enjoyed their friendship, have been 
tempted by offers of advancement. But I 
think I have chosen the better part. Here, 
in this marvelous new land, with its dawning 
possibilities and widening scope, one can lead 
the simple. God-fearing life — the life that 
brings its own reward in the end. Here, 
Rufus, amid the growth of what will be a 
great nation, lies the secret of happiness and 
contentment. England can offer nothing in 
comparison.” 

In such strain, with a hidden motive, 
Roger Williams continued to talk, and Rufus 
to listen attentively, until both were too 
drowsy to sit up any longer. As they 


With Puritan and Pequot 293 

stretched themselves by the warmth of the 
fire, and closed their eyes, a dark form crept 
noiselessly back from the top of the rock 
shelf and disappeared in the forest. 


CHAPTER XXII 


IN WHICH OLD FRIENDS TURN UP, AND DIRK 
HOBBEMA TELLS THE NEWS 

At last, mon ami ! After the hardships 
and perils of the frozen north, our lucky star 
has brought us once more to the haunts of 
men. Behold ! yonder lies the pale of civili- 
zation, such as it is. Yet I, for one, am not 
in the mood to cavil at it.” 

“ Nor I, Dollier. Sink me, ’tis the most 
welcome picture ever I clapped eyes upon, not 
excepting the smell of the Thames and the 
houses on London Bridge when one has been 
buried in Hampshire for a season. But what 
tidings await me here — that is the question,” 
the speaker added in an undertone. 

The time — we have harked back a little — 
was toward the close of a dull and blustery 
day that was like neither winter nor spring — 
a day when Governor Vane, in far distant 
Boston, had hardly as yet thought of the let- 
ter he meant to write and despatch to Roger 

294 


With Puritan and Pequot 295 

Williams at Narragansett Bay. Down the 
ebbing tide of the Great North River, in the 
gathering dusk of evening, drifted a squat 
and cumbersome craft flying a weather-beaten 
flag of the Albania Fur Company, and from 
her deck Vaylmer Laplash and Dollier Le 
Casson gazed eagerly across the gray waters 
to the low, dark mass, looming gradually 
near, that was the thriving port of New Am- 
sterdam. 

The night had fallen murkily, and a rising 
wind was fretting the harbor waves, before 
the Zuyder Zee dropped anchor off* one of the 
half-moon forts and put Laplash and his 
friend ashore. With boyish ardor they 
scrambled out of the boat, and vastly pleased 
they were to And themselves treading the fa- 
miliar streets of the quaint little Dutch town 
after an absence of close on six months. They 
had spent the long winter — and not altogether 
from choice — in the trackless wilderness to 
the north of Fort Orange, the remote outpost 
of the Netherlands fur trade. Of their former 
mercenaries and sailors, the reckless crew of 
the Due Return, some had found graves be- 
neath the snow and ice, some had been paid 


296 With Puritan and Pequot 

off the previous autumn and had gone their 
ways, and a few they still had with them, in- 
cluding the infamous Pybus Foulfoot. He 
now was dogging their heels like a cringing 
hound. 

“ And what is to be the first thing ? ” asked 
Le Casson, when they were well into the town. 

Money, my good Dollier — shining ducats 
and guilders,’’ Vaylmer replied, as he slapped 
his empty pockets ; ‘‘ and a respectable change 
of attire, and to crown all a supper that won’t 
taste of bilge-water and smoke. Faith ! I 
hardly know which we’re most in need of.” 

Another hundred yards brought them to 
the residence of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the 
wealthy patroon and jeweler of New Amster- 
dam, whose guests they had been before they 
went north, and in whose care Laplash had 
left a large sum of money and various per- 
sonal belongings. They found the merchant 
at home — he greeted them as if they had been 
spirits come back from the dead — and an hour 
later the two young swashbucklers sallied 
forth again, each clad in gay and fashionable 
raiment and provided with a fat purse of 
gold. They picked up Foulfoot, who had 


With Puritan and Pequot 297 

waited outside the house, and then made their 
way to the Black Dog, an inn of some repute 
in the vicinity of the Water Gate, where the 
entry of the three caused a flutter of surprise 
and curiosity. The buzz of voices ceased, and 
Jan Maartens, the portly landlord, bent nearly 
double to the visitors, who, superciliously 
eyeing the company and nodding here and 
there to a familiar face, swaggered through to 
a cozy little parlor at the rear, in which they 
had idled away many a long-past evening, 
secure from unwelcome intrusion. Their host 
followed with a lamp, and closed the door. 

‘‘ Ah, mynheers, it does my heart good to 
see you again,” he exclaimed, in English. 

They told me that you would never return 
— that you had gone far into the mountains 
of the north to kill moose and elk, and had 
perished there of starvation.” 

Faith, and we came near to it, my worthy 
man,” said Laplash. “ For days and weeks, 
entombed in a cabin buried deep under 
drifted snow, we rubbed elbows with death. 
But ” — he hesitated for an instant — d’you 
happen to be holding a letter for me, Master 
Maartens? ” 


298 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Since early in January,” was the reply. 
“ Twas left here by the skipper of a vessel 
that had just arrived from London port. You 
shall have it at once, mynheer ; ’’ and unlock- 
ing a cupboard built into the wall he took the 
letter from a shelf. 

Before breaking the seal Laplash studied 
the crest with which it was stamped, then 
opened the sheet and held it to the light. He 
and Le Casson had drawn their chairs to one 
corner of the table, and Foulfoot was seated at 
the farther end. Having started a cheerful 
fire and laid a white cloth, Jan Maartens 
bustled in and out for a time, fetching the 
tempting dishes for the preparation of which 
his good vrouw was renowned. 

Mynheers, your supper is served,’^ he an- 
nounced at length. Tis the best I have to 
offer.” 

“ We shall feast royally, be assured,” said 
Le Casson. “ Come, mon ami,” he added, as 
the door closed on the landlord. Let us 
fall to, if you’re ready.” 

With a muttered exclamation Laplash 
crumpled the letter to a ball — he had fin- 
ished reading it — and thrust it into his 


With Puritan and Pequot 299 

pocket. He stared gloomily across the table, 
all animation gone from his handsome face. 

“ What’s amiss ? ” inquired his friend. 
** Bad news ? ” 

Ay, and plenty of it,” Vaylmer replied, in 
a low voice. “ It could hardly be worse, 
though indeed ’tis no more than I expected. 
The tale of our little diversions has reached 
England, and been followed by an order from 
Boston for my apprehension — and yours as 
well — in the event of our returning there. 
The warrant is in the hands of Crown officers, 
and they’ve already been down to Hampshire. 
This from my father, in answer to the letter I 
wrote him last July. He is in a pretty rage, 
you will believe, and vows he’ll never hear 
my name spoken, which, by-the-by, I’m 
urged to change forthwith. Sink me, Dol- 
lier. I’ll be plain John Smith hereafter.” 

The warning is something to be thankful 
for,” said Le Casson. Instead of sailing for 
England, as we intended, let us proceed to 
France. Pouf ! the air of the Seine will blow 
away your melancholy.” 

A breath of London town, and a day with 
dog and gun in the Hampshire woods, are 


300 With Puritan and Pequot 

worth a year of your Paris/’ the other ex- 
claimed petulantly. “ But you can’t under- 
stand. I tell you I’m homesick, Dollier — my 
heart longs for the old country as it never 
longed for anything before. And longs in 
vain. I’ll never see England again.” 

Parbleu ! ’tis not so bad as that,” declared 
Le Casson. “ The storm will blow over.” 

“ Nay, I’ve a presentiment ” He broke 

off with a bitter laugh, and the supper passed 
in glum silence. But it was rarely that 
Vaylmer’s careless nature gave up to de- 
pression, and after a time he became almost 
cheerful once more. 

“What news have you for us?” he asked 
of the landlord, who was clearing the table. 
“ We’ve been out of the world for months, 
and know nothing. How are affairs in New 
England ? ” 

“ One sits in yonder company who can tell 
you better than I,” replied Jan Maartens. 
“ He is a trader in a small way — a daring 
fellow who goes everywhere with his pack on 
his shoulders — and he has just arrived from 
the parts you mention. Will you speak with 
him, mynheers?” 


With Puritan and Pequot 301 

“ By all means,” assented Le Casson. 

Ay, fetch him in,” said Laplash. 

There presently entered a leathery little 
man, with a lean and weather-hardened 
frame, who was introduced by the name of 
Dirk Hobbema. When he had been put at 
his ease, he spoke freely enough, though with 
a quiet modesty that pleased his hearers. He 
had recently been to Plymouth and Boston, 
Hartford and Wethersfield, and had left the 
latter place but five days ago, returning to 
New Amsterdam partly by water and partly 
by land. He told of the anxious winter, with 
its Indian outrages and attacks. 

Are you perchance acquainted with one 
Carver Jennicom, of Plymouth ? ” Laplash 
inquired, with feigned indifference, after 
various other questions had been put and 
answered. At this Pybus Foulfoot pricked 
up his ears, and glanced with furtive, greenish 
eyes at the Dutch trader, waiting for his reply. 

“ I saw the man a month ago, and had 
speech with him,” said Dirk Hobbema. “ I 
sold him a knife and a comb.” 

“ And has his son returned, do you know ? ” 
pursued Laplash. 


302 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Not so, mynheer, nor is the lad likely to 
be seen again in Plymouth. His doings are 
the talk of the Bay colonies. Since he muti- 
lated the royal standard in Boston last year, 

and broke out of 

That’s an old story,” Laplash interrupted, 
‘‘ and I’ve heard also of his subsequent pardon. 
What’s his latest rashness ? ” 

“ It happened early in the winter, when the 
magistrates had ordered the arrest and trans- 
portation to England of a dissenting minister 
of Salem, who had given them a good deal of 
trouble. But young Jennicom warned the 
man — Williams was the name — and fled with 
him into the wilderness, where he still re- 
mains.” 

“ Helas ! what a fine thing to do,” exclaimed 
Le Casson. 

‘‘ ’Twas simple madness,” said Vaylmer, as 

if speaking to himself, '' considering that ” 

He turned a curious, half-questioning glance 
on Foulfoot, whose swift change of color was 
masked by the shadow in which he sat. 

‘‘ There was much pity for the lad among 
the Plymouth folk,” Dirk Hobbema went on. 

It appears that he had a noble patron, the 


With Puritan and Pequot 303 

King’s deputy to New England, who was to 
have taken him over-sea and made his for- 
tune. However, that would probably have 
come to naught in any event, for Sir Lanslott 
Charmion lies now at death’s door.” 

“ What do you mean, my good fellow ? ” 
cried Vaylmer. 

'' Well, mynheer, I mean that when I left 
Wethersfield five days back the gentleman 
I’ve named was dangerously ill of a musket 
wound, which he received during the fight 
with the Indians. Fever had set in, and there 
was no doctor to be had.” 

Sir Lanslott ill, perhaps dying ! ” Vaylmer 
exclaimed in a tone of honest distress. Why, 
this is sad news. He was always most gracious 
to me, in spite of our differences, and I’ve but 
illy-repaid his kindness. Is his daughter with 
him?” 

“ Nay, she is in Boston. The journey to her 
father’s side is too perilous for the maid to 
undertake.” 

And what errand had Sir Lanslott at 
Wethersfield ? ” 

He is an old soldier, mynheer,” the trader 
replied, ‘‘ and I was told that he came to the 


304 With Puritan and Pequot 

Connecticut Valley to consult with Governor 
Winthrop and to help in the defense of the 
settlements.’^ 

“ Sink me,” exclaimed Laplash. “ I’ve an 
idea, Dollier. The English doctor — Ralph 
Gascoyne ! He is still in New Amsterdam, 
for I caught a glimpse of him this evening. 
I’ll pay him well, and send him to Wethers- 
field with all speed.” 

There is a better way yet,” said Le 
Casson. 

Medical skill was urgently needed, myn- 
heer,” Dirk Hobbema broke in before Vaylmer 
could inquire his friend’s meaning. If you 
dispatched your man at once, he will likely 
be in time to do some good. But he must 
keep to the east bank of the Connecticut — 
and well inland at that, for fear of roving 
parties of redskins. As for the other side of 
the river, the forest swarms with Pequots, and 
he could never get through.” 

And if he went by water, with a sloop and 
an armed escort ? ” suggested Laplash. 

Then he would have a clear way. ’Tis far 
the best plan, mynheer.” 

'' We’ll consider it, my man,” spoke up Le 


With Puritan and Pequot 305 

Casson, “ and as youVe put us under some 
obligation will you accept this ? and he slid 
a golden ducat across the table. 

Dirk Hobbema took the hint and the coin, 
and retired to the tap-room. The door closed 
behind him, and at once Dollier turned to 
Laplash and clapped him on the shoulder. 

Mon ami, our lucky star shines brightly 
again, he cried, heedless of Foulfoot^s pres- 
ence. It points to an enterprise that can 
hardly fail. Sir Lanslott Charmion has great 
influence with the Governor of Massachusetts 
and with your King of England, is it not 
so?^’ 

He is a personal friend of both,’^ assented 
Laplash. He certainly stands in high favor 
with his Majesty Charles Stuart.’^ 

“ And if he chose to exert himself he could 
render it possible for us to return to England 
in safety ? In a word, he could have us par- 
doned ? 

Why, there^s no douht of it. But in- 
deed ” 

Wait till you’ve heard all. We are going 
to Wethersfield, you and I, and this Dr. 
Gascoyne with us. He shall save the life of 


3o 6 With Puritan and Pequot 

Sir Lanslott, make him to recover of his 
wound, and we also will be attentive by the 
bedside. Can such a gallant gentleman, then, 
fail to reward our devotion ? A thousand 
times no. Is it settled that we depart for the 
Connecticut ? What say you ? ’’ 

“ You’re forgetting the risk,” urged La- 
plash, whose face had flushed with eagerness. 

“ There is none to speak of. At the worst, 
if Sir Lanslott should die, they would never 
hold us as prisoners after we had come volun- 
tarily, with our lives in our hands, on an 

errand of mercy. And if he lives ” 

“ If he lives,” echoed Laplash, “ and heaven 
grant he does, I’m convinced that he’ll prove 
neither unforgiving nor ungrateful. Dollier, 
you’ve vastly cheered my spirits. To win a 

pardon, to be free to go back to England 

But that is a lesser consideration. Even if I 
knew that our hopes were foredoomed to fail- 
ure, I would still brave much, would still un- 
dertake this journey, to do Sir Lanslott 
Charmion a service. We must get our plans 
into shape at once, Dollier. There is no time 
to lose.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 307 

The evening in the private parlor of the 
Black Dog was a little more than a week old 
when with lagging but careful steps, with 
wary glances right and left, four men pressed 
northwards through the trackless wilderness. 
They marched in single file, and Pybus Foul- 
foot, by virtue of a slight knowledge of this 
part of the country, led off. Next came La- 
plash and Le Casson, and last was Ralph 
Gascoyne, a dissipated-looking young man of 
thirty, a clever doctor and surgeon, who for 
some cause unknown to his companions — 
there were rumors of a forgery committed in 
London — had of recent years dwelt in the do- 
mains of the New Netherlands Company. 

The expedition had been delayed by stormy 
weather in the Sound, and on the previous 
evening, when the Connecticut had been navi- 
gated for a number of miles, it was found 
necessary to run their sloop — she had been 
leaking badly for twenty-four hours — into the 
mouth of a creek on the east bank, where 
overhanging trees afforded safe hiding. From 
here, early the next morning, the little party 
of four set out to complete the journey on 
foot. In spite of a considerable detour — they 


3o 8 With Puritan and Pequot 

remembered the trader’s advice to keep inland 
— they hoped to reach their destination by 
nightfall, or at least to come very little short 
of it. It had been settled that Foulfoot 
should leave them within a few miles of 
Wethersfield, and the sloop and her crew were 
to await his return before putting back to New 
Amsterdam. 

It was now about four o’clock of the after- 
noon, and Laplash, who had been singularly 
depressed and unlike himself all that day — 
and indeed since the start of the expedition 
— showed signs of growing uneasiness as he 
trod in the steps of the leader. Presently, 
coming to a hollow among steep hills, he sat 
down on a fallen tree and placed his firelock 
beside him. The others promptly halted, not 
loth to enjoy a brief rest. 

Art fatigued, mon ami ? ” asked Le 
Casson. 

I’m worried,” replied Vaylmer, “ and I 
can hardly tell you why. But this dense, 
dark wilderness, with every mile like the last 
one, seems to have no ending. I imagine 
queer things, and especially that we’ve lost 
our bearings and are going wrong, though I 


With Puritan and Pequot 309 

dare say that’s all nonsense. Why not strike 
for the river and follow its course? ” 

“ I’ve been thinking the same,” declared 
Dr. Gascoyne. “ Faith, the shrewdest wood- 
craft might well be at fault in such a bar- 
barous country.” 

You forget, sirs, that I have a compass,” 
Foulfoot said calmly. Be assured that I’ve 
not led you astray. A little river that flows 
into the Connecticut should be not far ahead, 
and at the mouth of it you will likely find a 
boat to take you across to Wethersfield. That 
failing, you can make signals. I’ll push on a 
bit and look for the stream, and meanwhile 
do you remain here. ’Tis a good camping- 
place if you decide to break the journey.” 

“ Ofi* with you, then,” assented Laplash. 
“ And don’t be long.” 

Fully an hour and a half elapsed, however, 
before Foulfoot reappeared, when he an- 
nounced that he had gone as far as the 
stream, which was within several miles ; but 
as night was now at hand, and all of the party 
were tired and hungry, they decided to stop 
where they were until morning. 

The frugal evening meal finished, and 


310 With Puritan and Pequot 

washed down with water from a near-by 
brook, a small fire, necessary for warmth, was 
made in a sheltered spot. Darkness fell 
swiftly, and soon afterward three silent forms 
lay stretched around the blazing wood. The 
fourth was missing. Foulfoot, having offered 
to mount guard, had slipped stealthily away 
the moment he was satisfied that his compan- 
ions were sleeping ; nor had he returned by 
daybreak, when for the first his absence was 
discovered. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


IN WHICH VILLAINY IS FRUSTRATED AND A 
PRISONER TAKEN 

The parting was over. The last farewells 
had been sadly spoken, and the Narragansett, 
impassive and taciturn as ever, had grunted a 
couple of words as he steadied the birchen 
craft for its occupant and then pushed it into 
the current. 

The minister and Shingascung had disap- 
peared, and the spot where they had been 
standing was empt}^, when Rufus glanced 
over his shoulder for the second time. A 
lump rose to his throat as he turned his head 
and paddled on, rapidly widening the dis- 
tance from the faithful friends whom he 
might never see again. But very soon, with 
the natural buoyancy of youth, regret began 
to yield to the bright promise of the future. 

“ Perhaps Roger Williams was right,” he 
said to himself, “ and the best place for me is 
here in New England, among my own peo- 
3 ” 


312 With Puritan and Pequot 

pie. And yet, to tell the truth, I don’t know 
what I should do if Sir Lanslott Charmion re- 
peated his offer. But Fm not likely to have 
the chance, so there’s an end of it. I have 
enough to redeem as it is, and since Governor 
Vane has given me a fresh start I must make 
the most of it.” 

The day quickly brightened, and the shroud 
of early dawn lifted from the gray waters. 
He had traveled a mile or two, plying the 
paddle with shallow and infrequent strokes, 
when a sudden cry of distress, from no great 
distance to the right, broke harshly on his 
reveries. 

No man’s voice that,” he muttered. 

There’s a woman yonder, and in need of 
help.” 

He hesitated but an instant. The cry was 
repeated as he drove the canoe to the bank 
and leaped ashore, and it rang out again as 
he sped in the direction of the sound, parting 
the thick bushes with his firelock. Twenty 
yards through the forest, by the sunken bed 
of a water-course, and he stopped in sheer 
amazement, almost loth to believe his own 
eyes. For here in a grassy glade a lean black 


With Puritan and Pequot 313 

bear, squatted on his hindquarters, was mak- 
ing feints with his forepaws toward two young 
girls who crouched by the trunk of a dead 
tree ; and this pair of hapless maidens were 
none other than Annis Charmion and Rose 
Brewster. 

Rufus ! ” they exclaimed together at sight 
of him. 

The bear wheeled round and snarled, and 
the lad advanced with a shout, swinging his 
firelock by the barrel. Then bruin, who had 
probably meant no harm, dropped to all fours 
and turned tail. A thumping blow on the 
fiank hastened his flight, and he whimpered 
like a cub as he made off at a lumbering gait, 
to quickly vanish in the thickets. 

He was every bit as frightened as you 
were,” Rufus told the girls, who clung about 
him eagerly, in a fervor of delight and aston- 
ishment. Their eyes were moist and their 
cheeks tear-stained, while the plain, service- 
able clothing that they wore, the skirts drip- 
ping with dew and pierced by thorns and 
briars, suggested a clue that proved to be the 
right one. From their first incoherent words, 
in reply to the lad’s questions, he gathered 


314 with Puritan and Pequot 

that they belonged to the band of settlers 
mentioned by Roger Williams, and that they 
had strayed from camp and been unable to 
find their way back. 

We were waiting till breakfast was ready,” 
Annis continued, “ and I persuaded Rose to 
venture into the wood to look for snowdrops. 
We went on a little farther, and then followed 
a pretty bird, and when we wanted to return 
we couldn’t tell which direction to take. You 
won’t leave us here, will you ? ” 

Surely not,” vowed Rufus. “ It will suit 
my plans just as well to join your party, if I 
can find the camp. I have no idea where it 
lies, though if we bear to the north ” 

Oh, you dare not go back with us,” Rose 
broke in sadly, regarding him with a troubled 
and wistful expression. “ You forget, Rufus, 
that you are a — a ” She hesitated. 

“ There is a warrant hanging over me, you 
mean ? ” asked the lad, smiling. Why, I 
am as free as you or Annis. Listen, Rose. I 
have the Governor’s pardon — at least it 
amounts to the same thing — and I have left 
Roger Williams and his companions and am 
now on my way to Hartford, where I am to 


With Puritan and Pequot 315 

report to Captain Mason for active serv- 
ice.” 

Rufus ! is this really true ? ” cried Rose. 

How glad I am ! ” 

“ And I,” exclaimed Annis, her dark eyes 
flashing with pleasure. 

Tis quite true,” Rufus assured them, “ so 
you see I’ve nothing to fear. On the con- 
trary, I’m glad of the chance to proceed in the 
company of old friends, if I may call them 
such.” 

You know the most of them,” said Rose. 

There are my parents and Humfrey, and my* 
mother’s uncle and his sons, and many more. 
Some are for Hartford and some for Wethers- 
fleld. In all we are nearly fifty, including an 
escort of soldiers.” 

But what kept you so long on the 
journey ? When did you leave Boston ? ” 

“ More than ten days ago,” Rose replied. 
“ We traveled very slowly, for there were 
children to be cared for, and cattle to be 
driven, and at times we had no path to guide 
us.” 

And how does Mistress Charmion come to 
be with you ? ” 


3i 6 With Puritan and Pequot 

I am going to my father,” Annis told 
him ; and her eyes filled at the question. 
“ He went to the Connecticut Valley during 
the winter, and now lies wounded at Wethers- 
field.” 

“ I’m deeply grieved to hear this,” said 
Rufus, to whom the news of his generous- 
hearted patron’s misfortune came as a shock 
and a surprise. “ What a plucky girl you 
are ! But that I’ve known from the first, 
since you* wanted to face the mob at Ply- 
mouth. I shouldn’t worry about Sir Lans- 
lott. You will find him out of danger, or 
quite recovered. I’ve no doubt.” 

“ The suspense has been almost more than 
I could endure,” faltered Annis. He was 
seriously ill, they told me. And I hoped to 
be with him to-day.” 

Why, so you shall,” vowed Rufus. 

We’ll set off at once in search of the camp, 
and as likely as not we shall meet some of the 
party on the way. I’m afraid, though, that 
you’ve wandered a long distance. Of course 
you kept shouting for help when you found 
that you were lost ? ” 

Oh ! we didn’t dare to,” cried Rose. We 


With Puritan and Pequot 317 

were careful not to make a sound. I forgot 
to tell you — we saw two Indians.’^ 

Indians ? ” echoed the lad. 

Yes, two hideous savages streaked with 
black paint. It was just after we tried to go 

back, and for fear they should hear us ’’ 

They passed close in front of us,’^ Annis 
broke in, but they never looked to right or 
left, so we had time to hide behind a 
tree.^’ 

Pequots on the war-path,” muttered 
Rufus, half aloud. And there must be more 
of them in the neighborhood.” He peered 
uneasily into the dense thickets surrounding ^ 
the glade, and examined the priming of his 
musket. Now don’t be frightened,” he said 
cheerfully. But what you’ve told me alters 
our plans. My canoe is within a few yards, 
and instead of attempting to find the camp — 
which you can understand would be risky — 
I’ll take you straight to Wethersfield by 
water. Then I’ll return, with as many men 
as can be spared, to meet your friends and let 
them know that you are safe.” 

Their ready acquiescence was a secret relief 
to Rufus, for he was in dread of discovery 


3i 8 With Puritan and Pequot 

from prowling redskins, who might have fol- 
lowed the trail of the two girls. He hastily 
guided his companions to the stream, and 
having disposed them comfortably, Annis in 
the bow and Rose near the middle of the 
canoe, he seated himself in the stern and be- 
gan to paddle with long, deep strokes. 

“ This is delightful,” said Rose, “ especially 
after one has walked or ridden on horseback 
for days and days.” 

Tis a great deal faster, too,” replied 
Rufus, who was no longer troubled by anxiety. 

But how ravenously hungry you must be, 
if you came away before breakfast. I’m sorry 
I haven’t anything to offer you. However^ 
they’ll remedy that at Wethersfield. We 
should do the eight or nine miles well inside 
of two hours, if all goes well.” 

“ Do you hear, Annis ? ” exclaimed Rose. 

In two hours ! ” 

The weather showed signs of changing. A 
rising wind, bleak and wintry, moaned among 
the pine-trees. The lad kept to mid-stream, 
where the current was strongest, and as he 
drove the light craft forward he entertained 
his companions with an account of his wan- 


With Puritan and Pequot 319 

derings in the forest, during the weeks of 
exile that were happily at an end. 

“ Hark ! ” exclaimed Rose, interrupting the 
narrative. “ There are rapids below. 

“ They won’t harm us,” said Rufus. 

’Twill be fine sport to run through them. 
Hold the firelock, please, so it isn’t jolted 
about.” 

A dull, roaring noise could be heard, and 
it suddenly grew louder as a bend of the 
channel revealed a streak of foamy white ex- 
tending from shore to shore. The canoe, now 
caught in the suction, sped on with increasing 
speed. Skilfully managed by the lad, it 
leaped like a feather amid the splashing 
surge, and the girls uttered little screams as 
they felt the pitching motion and saw the 
heavy rollers tumbling about them. Choppy 
waves began to smack against the frail craft, 
which rode triumphantly toward the edd^nng 
pool at the lower end of the falls. 

We’re safely through,” exclaimed Rufus. 

Just then he was startled by the discovery 
that water was oozing in at his feet, and the 
next instant, with a gurgling sound, a thick 
jet spouted up between his knees, bringing 


320 With Puritan and Pequot 

with it an oval-shaped piece of birch-bark. 
To check the flood was impossible, even had 
there been time. It poured and bubbled 
through the hole in the bottom — for which 
the half-dazed lad could not account — and 
almost immediately the canoe filled and sank, 
leaving its three occupants struggling on the 
surface of the stream. 

The current ran several ways at this point, 
and Rose and Annis, buoyed up by the in- 
flation of their clothing, were quickly carried 
three or four yards apart. Rufus, as he kept 
himself afloat, w^as for a couple of seconds in 
a terrible dilemma, unable to decide which of 
the two girls he should first render assistance 
to, for both were in peril. 

“ Save Annis,’’ cried Rose. “ I’m a good 
swimmer, and can reach the shore without 
help.” 

The lad hesitated no longer. Annis was 
nearest to him, and overhauling her by a few 
rapid strokes, he took a tight grip of her arm. 

“ You’re all right now,” he told her. 
“ Keep cool, and don’t try to catch hold 
of me.” 

Though badly frightened — her skirt had 



ALMOST IMMEDIA TELY THE 
CANOE FILLED AND SANK 



With Puritan and Pequot 321 

begun to drag her down — the girl obeyed the 
command and submitted passively to her 
rescuer. Swept into comparatively quiet 
waters, where the struggle was easier, they 
made slow but steady progress toward the 
north bank. Rose, swimming bravely, soon 
gained the shore, and a moment later Rufus 
landed his charge a short distance below. All 
three were more or less exhausted. Dripping 
wet, they shivered in the keen wdnd. 

‘‘ I’ve lost your musket,” wailed Rose, her 
teeth chattering. “ I had to drop it or sink. 
What happened, Rufus ? Did a rock tear a 
hole in the bottom ? ” 

It must have been that,” said Annis. 
“ The water gushed in all of a sudden.” 

’Twas not a rock,” declared Rufus. I 
know as little about it as yourselves.” 

“ What are we to do ? ” exclaimed Rose. 

How shall we reach Wethersfield ? ” 

The lad shook his head gloomily. Un- 
less I can recover the canoe, and mend it,” he 
replied, we’ll have to start in search of your 
friends.” 

It was far from likely that the craft would 
come to the surface, the water being deep and 


322 With Puritan and Pequot 

sluggish, but on the chance of it Rufus left 
his companions and ran swiftly down the 
narrow margin of shore, his eyes fixed on the 
stream. He had gone twenty yards or more, 
and had quite lost hope of succeeding in his 
quest, when he saw a fioating speck which he 
fancied he recognized. It had drifted close 
in, and to splash in pursuit of it was an im- 
pulse instantly carried out. He waded back, 
shaking himself vigorously, and examined 
with startled attention the oval piece of birch- 
bark that he held in his hand. 

“ Here^s a mystery,” he said aloud. “ This 
has been cut with a knife, and cunningly 
fastened in place again — the edges are smeared 
with sticky gum. It must have been done 
after Shingascung overhauled the canoe ; his 
sharp eyes couldn’t have missed it. But I 
can’t imagine who ” 

A quick rustling of branches, and a low, 
venomous chuckle, give him a fright. He 
heard his name called in a hoarse whisper, 
and looking up to the wooded bank of the 
stream, which rose steeply in front of him, he 
saw the long barrel of a musket protuding 
from the foliage and pointed straight at his 


With Puritan and Pequot 323 

breast. And at the farther end of the weapon, 
framed in the black shadow of pine-boughs, 
was the face of Pybus Foalfoot. 

IVe got you for sure this time, you 
whelp,’^ snarled the ruffian. You had 
better have been drowned, as I meant you 
to be, though a bullet will serve the same 
purpose. Say your prayers, for you’ll be 
dead in thirty seconds. I’ll allow you so 
much grace.” 

Rufus shuddered, but not with cold. For 
what seemed a little eternity, while thoughts 
crowded fast on his mind, he stood looking 
death in the face, impelled by a terrible fasci- 
nation to keep his eyes on the muzzle of 
the firelock and the gloating countenance be- 
hind it. 

From the tangle of red beard came a harsh 
voice relentlessly counting the seconds. 

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine 

And then, just as the lad’s agony found vent 
in a wild cry, two hands fastened on Foul- 
foot’s throat from the rear. The weapon ex- 
ploded harmlessly in the air, and the next 
instant the would-be murderer and Humfrey 
Brewster rolled down the slope and nearly 


324 With Puritan and Pequot 

to the water’s edge, locked tightly to- 
gether. 

A desperate struggle ensued, but it was 
speedily brought to a finish when Rufus, who 
was at first faint and dizzy, woke up to the 
situation and lent a hand. Overpowered by 
his captors, his arms securely bound with his 
own belt, Foulfoot accepted defeat without 
further resistance. The lads hauled him to a 
sitting posture and propped him against a rock. 

If you try any of your tricks,” threatened 
Rufus, “ I’ll kill you as I would a dog.” 

He called to the girls, who had been timidly 
watching the scene from a distance. They 
now hastened to the spot, and at sight of them 
Humfrey’s delight was unbounded. 

“ Well, this is luck,” he exclaimed. 
“ We’ve been searching for you everywhere, 
and you can imagine how worried we’ve all 
been.” 

“ Rufus found us,” replied Rose, as she em- 
braced her brother. “ He was taking us to 
Wethersfield in a canoe, and we had an acci- 
dent.” 

You look like it,” said Humfrey. “ You 
must get into dry clothing as soon as you can. 


With Puritan and Pequot 325 

The rest of the party are not far off, and that 
shot will fetch them in a hurry. Tis good to 
see you again, Rufus,’' he added. ‘‘ D’you 
know what a narrow escape you had ? — you’ll 
never be nearer death than you were a bit 
ago. I caught a glimpse of the scoundrel, as 
he skulked among the trees, and frustrated 
his villainy in the very nick of time.” 

There’s more back of it,” replied Rufus ; 
and turned to the prisoner. ‘‘ ’Twas you who 
cut the piece out of the canoe,” he declared. 

Don’t deny it. What brought you to these 
parts ? Are you alone ? ” 

Foulfoot might have been the Sphinx, for 
all the sign he gave of hearing. His greenish 
eyes, filled with unutterable malevolence, 
watched a branch drifting down the stream. 

“ ’Tis useless to waste breath on him,” said 
Humfrey. 

Just then shouting was heard at no great 
distance, and the lads raising their voices in 
response, scarcely a minute elapsed before 
Nathaniel Brewster came on the scene, ac- 
companied by two leather-clad musketeers and 
by Caleb Stagg and his sons. 

It was a joyful meeting, and what with the 


326 With Puritan and Pequot 

news that Rufus had to tell, and the girls^ 
story of their adventures, and the account of 
Foulfoot’s capture, there was a lively clatter 
of tongues until an understanding had been 
arrived at. Rufus was heartily congratulated 
by his friends, including Reuben Stagg, who, 
as he clasped the lad’s hand and noted his 
confusion, hastily said : 

Don’t you worry about that horse of mine. 
I got it back all right, and there’s an end of 
the matter.” 

Without further delay a start was made to 
join the rest of the party, by which was 
meant those of the settlers who were bound 
for Wethersfield, and who had pushed a little 
out of their way in order to search for the 
missing girls. The Hartford detachment, 
Nathaniel Brewster explained, had left the 
camp directly after breakfast and diverged to 
the northwest, the nearest route to their desti- 
nation. 

We’d have stuck together,” said Caleb 
Stagg, had we known what we know now — 
that redskins are in the neighborhood. How- 
ever, we’re fairly strong in numbers, as it is, 
and are not likely to be attacked.” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


IN WHICH THERE A RACE FOR LIFE AND A 
SURPRISE AT THE END OF IT 

A TRAMP of a mile or more from the stream 
brought the little company to their anxious 
friends, who had halted in the forest to await 
the return of the stragglers. And when Rufus 
saw the women and children, the tents and 
wagons, the household goods and stores, the 
herd of lean cattle, he began to realize by 
what tedious marches, under what trying dif- 
ficulties, the indomitable band of emigrants 
had journeyed for nearly ninety miles through 
the trackless wilderness, to make new homes 
where they might enjoy greater liberty and 
freedom of conscience. 

Mistress Brewster had almost abandoned 
hope, and the poor woman wept hysterically 
as she embraced her daughter and Annis. 
Not long afterward, the girls having changed 
their wet attire, the motley column proceeded 
on toward the Connecticut, Caleb Stagg taking 
327 


328 With Puritan and Pequot 

command. Soldiers were at front and rear. 
Some of the party drove the cattle, while 
others safeguarded the women and children, 
who walked by the jolting, heavily-laden 
wagons. In all the men numbered fifteen, 
including Rufus and Humfrey, and the five 
musketeers who formed a half of the divided 
military escort, the rest having gone with the 
Hartford detachment. It was a sufficiently 
strong force to give a good account of itself 
if attacked, but nevertheless, in view of the 
fact that Indians had been seen, a feeling of 
uneasiness prevailed and there was a general 
desire to reach Wethersfield with the least 
possible delay. 

Pybus Foulfoot, his arms bound behind 
him, trudged along reluctantly, with a scowl- 
ing face, guarded on either side by Jonas and 
Reuben Stagg. He could have told, had he 
been so minded, a tale of murderous desire 
relentlessly and warily pursued ; how on the 
previous afternoon, while pushing ahead of 
his party, he discovered Rufus and his friends 
and followed them to their camping-place ; 
how he crept back there later, when his own 
comrades were asleep, and listened to the con- 


With Puritan and Pequot 329 

versation between Roger Williams and the 
lad, from the top of the rocks ; how, with 
craft worthy of a redskin, he worked his way 
round to the canoe, cut a piece out of the bot- 
tom, and replaced it with resinous gum. 
Then, as a double precaution against the re- 
mote chance of interference from Williams 
and Shingascung, he had swum across the 
stream, transporting his clothing and mus- 
ket on two logs lashed together, and 
traveled down the opposite shore as far as 
the rapids, where he calculated that the 
rough water would bring the canoe to 
instant grief and put his enemy at his 
mercy. But he had failed in the moment of 
triumph. 

The progress of the column was necessarily 
very slow. The wilderness was dense and 
rugged, and at times a way had to be cleared 
for the cattle and wagons, which advanced at 
little more than a crawling pace. A course 
was steered by the compass. Clouds sheeted 
the sky and obscured the sun. In anxious 
silence, with firelocks primed and ready to 
fly to shelter, the men plodded alertly, scan- 
ning every copse and thicket, fearful of what 


33° With Puritan and Pequot 

peril might lurk in the depths of the sur- 
rounding forest. 

All went well, however, until eleven o’clock 
of the morning, when the vanguard of mus- 
keteers broke cover and emerged on a high 
and grassy bluff overlooking the valley of the 
Connecticut. The rest of the line quickly 
trailed out of the timber, and voices rose in 
thanksgiving as the delighted settlers realized 
that they were nearly at the end of their long 
journey, that the goal was almost in sight. 
Within fifty yards, beyond the strip of shore 
at the foot of the slope, flowed the majestic 
river, across which the coveted realm of hills 
and woodlands stood out clearly. The mouth 
of the stream by which Rufus had intended 
to travel was a mile below, and the town of 
Wethersfield — it was invisible from this point 
owing to a twist of the channel — lay between 
four and five miles down the opposite bank. 
The site of it was marked by faint gray smoke 
blowing to westward. 

A small skiff, borne in one of the wagons, 
was promptly lifted to the ground. Gather- 
ing his companions about him, Caleb Stagg 
chose two from the number and bade them 


With Puritan and Pequot 331 

paddle to the settlement as swiftly as pos- 
sible. 

Yondl send the flat boats across to meet 
us,” he added, and meanwhile we’ll push on 
southward as far as we’re able. There’s a 
tributary stream at no great distance below, 
and that’s where we’ll be found waiting.” 

He had hardly spoken, and the men had no 
more than laid hands on the skiff*, when flend- 
ish yells burst from the forest in the rear, and 
a cloud of arrows came winging viciously. A 
musketeer staggered and fell, a shaft buried 
deep in his throat. Two others were slightly 
wounded, and several of the cattle being hit, 
the remainder of the herd stampeded madly, 
bellowing with fright, and were immediately 
scattered in all directions. To recover them 
was out of the question. 

For a moment panic and confusion reigned 
supreme, the neighing of horses mingling 
with the cries of the women and children and 
the excited shouting of their protectors. The 
redskins, with ear-splitting screeches, con- 
tinued to discharge arrows ; but a straggling 
volley fired at random into the thickets — not 
a sign of the foe was visible — apparently 


332 With Puritan and Pequot 

caused some damage and temporarily drove 
the attacking force to deeper cover. 

“ They’ll be rushing us next — I know the 
varmints/’ cried Caleb Stagg. “ Look you, 
comrades, there’s only one thing can save us 
from destruction, and that’s a doubtful chance. 
But I remember seeing, when I was in these 
parts a year ago, a palisaded house not far 
from here — less than a mile up-river. If it 
has not been burned since, and we can man- 
age to reach it, we’re strong enough to hold 
the place till help arrives from Wethersfield.” 

“ ’Tis Ned Darby’s house,” put in a soldier 
who had served under Governor Winthrop. 
‘‘ I mind it well. ’Twas as strong as a for- 
tress.” 

“ Let us seek it without delay,” exclaimed 
Nathaniel Brewster. “ Be not weak of heart, 
my friends. Heaven will guide and protect 
us.” 

“ Down with you, quick ! ” commanded 
Caleb Stagg. To the water — we can make 
better speed there, and will be farther out of 
range. But ’twill be a race for life. I’m think- 
ing. Careful with the horses. Don’t hurry 
them.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 333 

The savages, for some inexplicable reason, 
were as yet holding aloof. Not many seconds 
had elapsed since the first alarm, and a half 
minute more — after an awkward and perilous 
descent — found the whole convoy safe at the 
foot of the bluff, between which and the brink 
of the Connecticut stretched a fairly wide 
margin of pebbles and sandy soil, coarse grass 
and stunted bushes. 

The women and children — the former pale 
and trembling and the latter whimpering 
with fear — were hastily stowed in the leading 
covered wagon and Foulfoot was thrust into 
the second. The former’s load, with the ex- 
ception of enough goods to erect an arrow- 
proof barricade on the dangerous side, was di- 
vided between the other vehicles. Then the 
flight began, and none dared prophesy how it 
would end. 

“ They’re going to make it warm for us, 
father,” said Jonas Stagg. 

The prediction was speedily verified. Ar- 
rows, winged invisibly, described curves high 
in air and dropped among the anxious party. 
Worse followed as the Indians, now reinforced 
and growing bolder, ventured out of the tim- 


334 With Puritan and Pequot 

ber line and showed themselves here and 
there on the crest of the gently-sloping bluff. 
For a quarter of a mile a running fight was 
thus kept up, and not without loss on both 
sides. The settlers poured a steady fire, half 
of them holding their weapons in reserve 
while the others loaded ; and the accuracy of 
their aim, as they coolly potted the dusky 
forms outlined on the heights, was more than 
once proved by a warrior’s death shriek and 
a glimpse of a tumbling body. Thicker and 
faster came the arrows, louder rang the savage 
yells. A horse attached to the rearmost 
wagon fell dead, and not five seconds later its 
mate was crippled. There was a brief delay, 
the vehicle and its contents were abandoned, 
and the convoy moved slowly on again. 

‘‘ They’ve got us in a tight place,” said 
Rufus. I wonder if we’ll get out of 
it.” 

If we can reach the house — that’s the last 
hope,” panted Humfrey, as he rammed a 
bullet home — the two lads were side by side, 
displaying the courage of old veterans. 

The next instant an arrow pierced Hum- 
frey’s right shoulder, and he reluctantly 


With Puritan and Pequot 335 

obeyed Caleb Stagg’s order to join the other 
wounded, who were to the left and sheltered 
side of the wagons. Rufus, boiling with rage, 
pulled trigger on a painted redskin who was 
fitting a shaft to his bow. He felt a thrill of 
fierce delight as the savage pitched headfore- 
most over the bluff* and landed motionless a 
dozen feet down. 

^‘Well done, my boy,^^ shouted Nathaniel 
Brewster. 

The situation was fast becoming desperate, 
and haggard faces frequently turned to look 
across the tide to the peaceful hills beyond, 
or more persistently scanned the foreground. 
The Pequots no longer exposed themselves so 
freely. As they trailed in pursuit, whooping 
and screeching, they continued to harass the 
sorely-tried fugitives from every bit of cover. 
Two soldiers were dead and left behind, in- 
cluding the man who had fallen in the first 
surprise. Five of the party were wounded, 
two of them so severely that they had been 
thrust in among the women and children. 
The wagon hoods bristled with arrows, and 
one of the leading horses, hit in the fiank, 
struggled on with difficulty. Still there was 


336 With Puritan and Pequot 

no sign of the fortified house, nor was there 
much hope of finding it tenable. 

They were now drawing near to a low hum- 
mock covered with stones and bushes, extend- 
ing almost to the water's edge, which hid the 
view beyond. The vanguard pushed around 
the base of this, and at once started to cheer 
excitedly and to point ahead. The rest of 
the convoy eagerly followed, and all eyes be- 
held a most welcome and cheering sight. At 
a distance of considerably less than a quarter 
of a mile, on a plateau of high ground, stood 
a lofty palisade with a timbered gate set mid- 
way in it, and over the top could be seen a 
chimney and part of a roof To one side of 
the enclosure the Connecticut flowed within 
seventy or eighty feet, and on the opposite 
side the line of the bluff receded for a couple 
of hundred yards. 

We’ll be safe enough there,” exclaimed 
Caleb Stagg. Forward, comrades ! We’ll 
make a quick dash for it. Why ! the place is 
surely occupied,” he added, perceiving a thin 
wisp of smoke rising in the air. 

“ Ay, and by white men,” declared Na- 
thaniel Brewster. Look ! ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 337 

As he spoke the big gate was thrown open, 
and forthwith emerged two figures clad in 
gray. They took off their hats and waved 
them with unmistakable gestures. 

Friends ! ” cried Rufus. Hurra ! hurra ! ’’ 

The redskins, grasping the fact that they 
were likely to be robbed of their prey, showed 
themselves more boldly. With fierce yells, 
as if they intended to sweep down in force, 
they collected at the point where the crest of 
the high ground began to curve inland. Ar- 
rows fiew in a cloud, and were answered by 
fiashes of fire and crashing reports, as the set- 
tlers poured a final volley at the foe. Whips 
cracked on the air, the straining horses broke 
into a gallop, and after them, amid shouting 
and clamor, the wagons bounded and jolted. 

It was a thrilling race, and a brief one. 
Soon the river shore commenced to rise, but 
by the united efforts of the party, by much 
pushing and tugging, the ascent to the plateau 
was quickly made. A minute later, without 
mishap, the wagons had clattered through the 
open gateway and into the enclosure. The 
rear guard followed, looking over their shoul- 
ders in expectation of an attack that was not 


338 with Puritan and Pequot 

at present to be feared ; for the Pequots, hav- 
ing abandoned the attack, had withdrawn be- 
hind the bluff. 

“ Why, if it ain't Philemon Kent ! And 
yonder's Tom Gunstone ! " cried Caleb Stagg, 
as he recognized old acquaintances in the two 
supposed strangers. 

Man, I'm glad to see you," said Philemon 
Kent, as he clasped Stagg's hand. “You and 
your friends have had a close call. However, 
I'm thinking you will be safe enough here, 
though there’s no telling.” He drove the 
heavy gate shut and dropped the cross-bars 
into their sockets, then put his eyes to a loop- 
hole in the palisade. “No sign of the var- 
mints," he added, “ but they'll be up to some 
mischief by and by, depend on it." 

The horses, steaming and exhausted, stood 
breathing painfully. The women and chil- 
dren had climbed out of the wagons, and the 
wounded were being lifted to the ground. 

“How many are you?" inquired Caleb 
Stagg. 

“ Three all told," replied Philemon Kent, 
“ including a gentleman whom we were to 
have escorted to Boston. He’s too ill to go 


With Puritan and Pequot 339 

any farther. Luckily your party is a pretty 
strong one, and we should be able to hold out 
if wehe attacked. Why, there’s Nathaniel 
Brewster. And is that his daughter Rose 
next him ? ” 

Tis Mistress Charmion ” 

“ Charmion ? ” demanded Kent. ‘‘ Not the 
daughter of the King’s deputy ? ” 

“ Ay, the same,” Stagg assured him. She 
traveled with us to seek her father, who lies 
wounded at Wethersfield. No doubt you can 

tell me what news there is ” 

“ I can do more than that,” interrupted 
Kent. Come indoors, man, and fetch the 
maid with you.” 

He led the way to the house, accompanied 
by half a dozen others, and as they entered a 
man who lay on a rude bed by the fireplace 
lifted himself on one elbow with a startled 
exclamation. The next instant, with a glad 
cry of “ Father ! father ! ” Annis had darted 
across the room and was folded in Sir Lans- 
lott’s arms. 


CHAPTER XXV 


IN WHICH PYBUS FOULFOOT PLAYS HIS 
LAST PART 

Within twenty-four hours after the Dutch 
trader’s departure from Wethersfield Sir Lans- 
lott Charmion had taken a turn for the better. 
The improvement was continuous and rapid, 
and in a little more than a week he was able 
to leave his bed. Then, learning that news 
of his illness had been sent to the Bay, know- 
ing what anxiety and suspense his daughter 
must be in, he determined to set off for Boston 
at once. With two companions he started at 
daybreak, that same morning when Caleb 
Stagg’s party were encamped within a few 
miles of Wethersfield. The three were ferried 
over the Connecticut and landed a mile below 
the empty house, on nearing which — they 
meant to keep to the river for a time before 
striking inland — the breaking out afresh of 
the baronet’s wound brought the journey to 
340 


With Puritan and Pequot 341 

an unfortunate termination and compelled an 
immediate halt. 

Such was the story as first related by 
Philemon Kent, and it was subsequently told 
in fuller detail by Sir Lanslott himself. His 
condition gave rise to some anxiety, for he 
was flushed with fever and suffering pain ; 
but the presence of Annis had already done 
wonders. He was much brighter and in the 
best of spirits, vowing that all he needed was 
rest, and that he would soon be on his feet again. 

“ Governor Vane has acted wisely and gen- 
erously,” he said to Rufus when he had heard 
of the lad’s altered circumstances. “ He has 
given you another chance, and I trust you 
will show yourself worthy of it.” 

“ I mean to do that, sir,” Rufus replied. 

Annis flashed a quick look at him, which 
said as plainly as words that he would regain 
all that he had forfeited. He went away from 
the bedside with his thoughts in a whirl. 

The time was now an hour past noonday, 
and all was quiet, without and within. Pybus 
Foulfoot, still sullen and tongue-tied, had been 
bound to a hind-w^heel of one of the wagons. 
The horses were stabled, and the women and 


342 With Puritan and Pequot 

children were comfortably quartered in the 
house, which was a stout structure of logs, 
pierced with loopholes ; it had three rooms on 
the lower floor, and a great loft overhead. 
The wounded had received every attention, 
and with one exception were about again, 
Humfrey among the number. 

A narrow platform, raised five feet above 
the ground, ran along the whole four sides of 
the palisade. Here armed men were pacing 
to and fro, scanning the open stretch to north 
and south, and watching river and forest. 
But the Indians might have been a hundred 
miles away, for all the indication they gave 
of their presence, nor was there any sign of a 
relief-party as far as the eye could command 
the sweep of the Connecticut. 

“ A messenger might get safely through,'^ 
Nathaniel Brewster suggested to a little group 
near the gate. 

“ Twould be sending him to his death,” 
declared Caleb Stagg. “No boat is to be had 
— ’tis unfortunate we left the skiff* behind — so 
how could he cross the river ? And the red- 
skins would be after him at once. The3^’re 
lying under cover, and biding their time.” 


With Puritan and Pequot 343 

Ay, ay, that’s right,” assented the others. 

Don’t you suppose they heard our musket- 
shots at Wethersfield ? ” asked Rufus. 

’Tis most uncertain, lad,” replied Phile- 
mon Kent. They might see the smoke 
from yonder chimney, perhaps, but they 
would pay little attention to it, thinking that 
Pequots were in the neighborhood. And then 
again, even if they did hear the sound of 
firing, I doubt if they would do anything 
until the garrison was strengthened. A party 
of twenty men went south this morning to 
search for a sloop that was expected up from 
Say brook, and was several days overdue.” 

“ Well, there’s no need to worry, as I can 
see,” put in Caleb Stagg. We’re safe enough 
for the present. We have plenty of powder 
and ball, and a week’s supply of food.” 

“ And there’s a well of sweet water back of 
the house,” said Tom Gunstone. Best to 
look the situation square in the face,” he 
added, for I’ll tell you what it is, comrades, 
we’ll have at least one tussle with the redskins 
before help comes. They’ll never let the sun 
go down on their wrath.” 

Gunstone was a true prophet. The north- 


344 With Puritan and Pequot 

ward stretch of the plateau being thickly 
overgrown with bushes to within a couple of 
furlongs of the house, and having on the west 
a steep drop to the margin of the Connecticut, 
a splendid chance was afforded the enemy of 
creeping unperceived to close quarters. This 
they did very cunningly, and about two 
o^clock, a sentry giving timely alarm, a band 
of not less than one hundred Pequots were 
seen to pour over the rim of the embank- 
ment. 

All available men were promptly on the 
platforms, ready to deal death from the loop- 
holes, and muskets were fired as fast as they 
could be loaded. With fanatical courage and 
determination the foe rained a storm of blows 
with their tomahawks and battle-axes, but 
made little or no impression on the stout 
timbers. Some fell in this futile attempt, and 
others, who scrambled to the top of the pali- 
sade and tried to climb over, were either 
beaten back with clubbed weapons or killed 
as they dropped to the platform. There was 
an anxious minute when the issue seemed 
doubtful, but in the end the redskins with- 
drew as suddenly as they had come, carrying 


With Puritan and Pequot 345 

their wounded off the field and leaving eight 
or nine dead behind. The little garrison had 
sustained no loss whatever. 

“ That’ll teach them a lesson,” said Caleb 
Stagg. 

“ They won’t give up yet,” replied Gun- 
stone, shaking his head gloomily. ’Twas 
no more than half of their force, I’m think- 
ing, that we were engaged with. Next time 
they’ll try different tactics.” 

“ Ay, as like as not,” assented Philemon 
Kent. That’s the worst of an Indian — he 
never knows when he’s had enough.” 

There was some further conversation in the 
same strain, for these Puritan fighting-men 
were too wise and far-seeing to overestimate the 
value of their victory, or to imagine that the 
repulse of the Pequots meant the end of the 
siege. But the womenfolk learned the good 
news with feelings of unalloyed delight, while 
Sir Lanslott Charmion was, of course, con- 
firmed in the view which he had been per- 
suaded to take ; namely, that there was no 
occasion for anxiety. 

“ He is a very sick man,” Nathaniel 
Brewster said to his wife, and should have 


346 With Puritan and Pequot 

proper medical care. Tis out of the question, 
though — there was no doctor to be had while 
he lay at Wethersfield, I'm told.” 

“ We must do the best we can,” replied 
Mistress Brewster. “ But I am worried about 
him, Nathaniel. His illness requires more 
than herbs and simples.” 

Nothing could have seemed more wildly 
improbable than that the urgently-needed 
want would be speedily supplied, yet stranger 
things have happened, and Providence was 
working in mysterious ways that afternoon. 

A couple of hours dragged monotonously 
by, a vigilant and continuous watch being 
kept from every quarter, and then, at a little 
past four o’clock, a distant gun-shot was heard, 
and was immediately followed by a shout from 
a sentry who was posted on the south side of 
the stockade, in which the gate was set. Rufus, 
who had been in the house talking to Rose 
and Annis, ran hastily with others, and was 
among the first to mount the platform. 

The eager garrison naturally scanned the 
river, hoping to see the expected relief-force 
from Wethersfield, and as quickly, nothing 
being visible there, all eyes turned in the op- 


With Puritan and Pequot 347 

posite direction, to the southward stretch of 
the bluff that rose two hundred yards behind 
the enclosure. Here lay the scene of interest, 
and here a desperate race for life was just en- 
tering on its initial stage. A moment before 
three figures had dashed over the crest of the 
high ground, at a point slightly under half a 
mile away, and were now descending the 
slope by leaps and bounds, while after them 
trailed a horde of yelling savages. They 
sped on swiftly, straight toward the palisade, 
and as soon as they reached the level the dis- 
tance between pursuers and pursued — ’twas 
forty yards or so — began perceptibly to 
lessen. 

Can they be redskins deserting to us ?’^ 
exclaimed Tom Gunstone. 

“ Nay, they’re white men,” declared Rufus, 
whose eyes were uncommonly sharp. “ I can 
make them out plainly.” 

“ What possessed them to challenge sucli 
odds ? ” muttered Philemon Kent. “ They 
run like deer — but the Indians are fieeter. 
They’ll never get through.” 

“ D’you mean to see the poor fellows 
butchered before our very eyes ? ” cried Caleb 


348 With Puritan and Pequot 

Stagg. ‘‘ Surely not. Come, we’ll go out to 
meet them.” 

“ And be cut off from the stockade ? ” 
roared Kent. “ Who knows how many red- 
skins are lurking yonder by the river bot- 
tom ? Man, where are your wits? ” 

“ You’re right,” admitted Stagg. “ But 
what else can we do ? ” 

“ Ay, what else ? ” echoed Gunstone. 

There’s one chance, perhaps,” cried Kent. 
“ I’ll show you.” 

With that he leaped to the ground, the rest 
springing after him, and in a trice he had 
unbarred the heavy gate and thrown it wide 
open. 

‘‘ Stand ready,” he shouted, ‘‘ and directl}^ 
the fugitives get in — if they’re able to hold 
the lead — give the redskins a volley. Then 
slam the gate shut in their faces, and scatter 
for the loopholes. And meanwhile keep an 
eye on the riverside, against surprise.” 

The little group of spectators clustered in 
the gateway, thrilled with excitement as they 
watched the progress of the race. Dashing 
over the plain, drawing steadily nearer, came 
the plucky three, bare-headed and empty- 


With Puritan and Pequot 349 

handed. They were within a quarter of a 
mile now, and the short distance yet to be 
traversed, the sight of friends and safety at the 
goal, spurred them to almost superhuman ef- 
forts. But eight young warriors, sounder of 
wind than the rest, were pressing on with un- 
flagging strength, and very obviously gaining. 
They were no more than a dozen yards in the 
rear, and must soon overhaul their intended 
victims. They were unarmed except for small 
weapons carried in their hands and at their 
girdles, and since they hurled none of these — 
they might have done so with deadly effect — 
it was evident that they meant, out of sheer 
bravado, to use the tomahawk and the scalp- 
ing-knife at close quarters. 

We can’t Are without fear of hitting the 
others, worse luck,” exclaimed Caleb Stagg. 
“ D’you think the poor fellows will get in ? — 
a hundred yards more, and they’re safe.” 

There’s no hope,” said Humfrey. '' ’Tis 
heart-sickening to stand here idle and wait 

for those poor men to be ” Clutching 

Rufus by the arm, he exclaimed eagerly : 
“ Look ! look ! surely one of the three is Vayl- 
mer Laplash — the one to the right,” 


350 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Why, so it is ! Rufus gasped in astonish- 
ment. “ And the one in the middle is Dollier 
Le Casson. The third I don’t know — he’s a 
stranger.” 

They’ll never do it,” vowed Philemon 
Kent, as the tragic end was seen to be immi- 
nent. “ God help them ! Men, be ready with 
a volley.” 

“ I can’t stand this,” cried Rufus. “ Who 
follows? ” 

Urged by an impulse that he was powerless 
to resist, the brave lad darted forward. As 
quickly Caleb Stagg was at his heels, and 
wuth lusty shouts four more sped after the 
two. The distance was short, and the little 
party covered ground with strenuous leaps. 
They had made the attempt not a second too 
soon, and, as it was, they were likely to fail. 
They were less than five yards from the im- 
periled men when Le Casson, wheeling sud- 
denly round in despair, threw himself upon 
the foremost pursuer, who had been about to 
brain him with an axe. The two struggled 
and fell, and at the same instant, an Indian 
who was farther back hurled a tomahawk ; 
the weapon struck Laplash on the head and 


With Puritan and Pequot 351 

whizzed past him, though the force of the 
blow brought him down. 

The third fugitive, spent and breathless, 
staggered up to the rescuers. They let him 
go by, and then, rushing on a few paces, half 
of them discharged their muskets, killing or 
disabling three of the pursuers. With the 
butt of his piece Caleb Stagg despatched Le 
Casson^s assailant and helped the young 
Frenchman to his feet, and meanwhile Rufus, 
finding Laplash in a stunned condition, had 
with some difficulty hoisted him upon his 
back. With a glance around him the lad set 
off* as fast as he could go, his broad shoulders 
bent under the weight they carried. 

That^s enough, men,” shouted Caleb Stagg. 
“ Don’t go a step further. Save your powder 
and ball.” 

It was all done and over in a twinkling. 
The remainder of the Indians had fied, losing 
another of their number as they went. 
Through the pungent drift of smoke, 
screeched at from a distance by the onlook- 
ing groups of savages, the brave fellows 
dashed back to their anxious comrades. 
Amid hearty cheers they entered the stock- 


352 With Puritan and Pequot 

ade, Rufus coming last with his burden, and 
immediately the gate was closed and barred. 
If redskins were lurking under the river bank, 
they had unaccountably missed a rare chance. 

“ Were you crazy ? ’’ thundered Philemon 
Kent. “ D^you know that you might 

have But there ! you’ve saved three 

lives, and I’ll say no more.” 

The rescued fugitives were the centre of at- 
traction, though their presence in the en- 
closure did not delay the prompt posting of 
sentries on the platform. Among those who 
had been drawn from the house by the com- 
motion and firing were Rose and Annis, and 
the latter was looking on with flushed cheeks 
and dilated eyes that betrayed her agitation. 
Dr. Ralph Gascoyne — he was the strange 
member of the trio — was leaning against the 
palisade, fighting hard for his breath. Le 
Casson, though equally exhausted, had no 
thought save for his friend. 

Monsieur, tell me that he is not dead,” he 
pleaded hoarsely as he staggered up to Rufus, 
who had placed Laplash on the ground and 
was stooping over him. 

Indeed, sir, he is scarcely hurt,” the lad 


With Puritan and Pequot 353 

replied. “ See ! there’s a lump on his skull 
where the tomahawk grazed him.” 

Ay, I’m as sound as ever,” put in Laplash 
himself, opening his eyes. “ I was only partly 
stunned by the blow, for I remember all that 
happened.” He insisted on rising, and when 
helped to his feet he was able to stand on his 
trembling limbs. 

“ Vaylmer, mon ami ! ” Le Casson cried in 
delight. 

“ Dollier, my dear fellow ! ” and they clasped 
hands as if they had just met after a separa- 
tion of months. 

“ ’Twas you saved my life,” said Laplash, 
turning to Rufus with a look of gratitude, 
“ whereas, by the memory of your wrongs, 
you should have left me to my fate. I’m 
heavily in your debt, my boy, and believe 


He stopped with an exclamation of sur- 
prise, having that instant caught sight of 
Annis. Seeing that she was recognized, the 
girl shrank away from him, and moved be- 
hind Rose. 

May I inquire, sir, what brought you to 
these parts ? ” spoke up Caleb Stagg, in a 


354 With Puritan and Pequot 

harsh and suspicious tone ; he had meanwhile 
been conversing in whispers with Nathaniel 
Brewster and several others. 

“ ’Tis a short story, and you shall have it 
at once,’’ Laplash calmly replied. ‘‘We are 
bound from New Amsterdam to Wethersfield, 
and last night we lay in the forest a short dis- 
tance from here. Toward noon to-day, com- 
ing to a stream that fiows yonder, we built a 
raft with the intention of drifting down to 
the Connecticut. But seeing a couple of 
canoes filled with savages below us, we made 
a hasty landing and proceeded in this direc- 
tion through the forest, which, as you may 
imagine, involved us in fresh misfortunes. 
We got a glimpse of your stockade from the 
high ground, and at the same time discovered 
large bodies of Indians to right and left of us. 
There was only one thing to do, and we did 
it. Throwing away our firearms, so that we 
might run the faster, we started on the race 
for life.” 

“ Helas I and what a race ! ” exclaimed Le 
Casson. “ Messieurs, we should have been 
scalped but for your noble efforts.” 

“ You were bold men to venture into such 


With Puritan and Pequot 355 

company,” Caleb Stagg said coldly. '' And 
your errand to Wethersfield — will you explain 
that?” 

“ There sits the explanation, sir ; ” and La- 
plash pointed to Ralph Gascoyne. ‘‘ The man 
is an English doctor of some skill, long resid- 
ent in New Amsterdam, and we were fetching 
him to the aid of Sir Lanslott Charmion, of 
whose serious illness we were aware. I trust 
that it is not too late to be of service to him.” 

A low murmur of voices, and a dubious 
wagging of heads, greeted this statement. In 
the brief silence that ensued Annis pushed 
through the group. 

‘‘ Why, my father is here ! ” she cried. 

Here? ” echoed Laplash. Do you mean 
it?” 

“ He lies in yonder house, tossing with pain 
and fever. Is it true, Vaylmer, what you’ve 
said?” 

Every word, sweet mistress.” 

Oh, how thoughtful and generous of 
you ! ” exclaimed the girl. “ How can I 
thank you ? And this man is a doctor, you 
tell me ? Pray come, sir, at once, to my 
father’s side.” 


35^ With Puritan and Pequot 

‘‘ With pleasure, fair lady,” replied Gascoyne, 
bowing with courtly grace. 

Unfastening a small black box that was 
strapped to his waist, he hastened after Annis. 
Laplash, starting to follow them, found the 
path blocked by Caleb Stagg, who sharply 
demanded : 

“ Your name is Vaylmer Laplash, Lm told ? ” 

“ It is, sir.,” 

“ And t'other one,” indicating the French- 
man, is called Le Casson ? ” 

‘‘You are quite right.” 

“ That’s enough, then. iAs for your story, 
it may or may not be true. But since war- 
rants are held for the arrest of both of you — 
I need not mention the charges — ’tis my duty 
to put you under arrest.” 

“You have proper authority, I suppose?” 
said Laplash, flushing deeply. 

“I’ve the right of every honest citizen to 
apprehend a felon. I’ll answer for that to 
Governor Winthrop, before whom you will 
appear as soon as circumstances permit of 
your being conveyed to Hartford.” 

“ Parbleu ! is this to be our reward for a 
deed of mercy?” exclaimed Le Casson, shrug- 


With Puritan and Pequot 357 

ging his shoulders. And the blame is mine, 
mon ami. Ah, why did you listen to 
me? 

“ Courage, Dollier, ’twill come right in the 
end,” said Laplash. I never doubted but 
that our errand would be a guarantee of 
safety,” he went on, turning to Caleb Stagg. 
“ Sir Lanslott Charmion will certainly have a 
word to say in our favor. I beg that you 
will let me see him at once.” 

I’ll take no such responsibility,” was the 
reply, while Sir Lanslott is in his present 
condition. To-morrow, perhaps, I may men- 
tion your request to him. By-the-by, d’you 
happen to have lost one of your party? ” 

“ Ay, there were four of us,” Laplash an- 
swered on the spur of the moment, then be- 
trayed signs of confusion. 

And where’s the fourth man ? ” 

He disappeared from our camp last night, 
and was not seen afterward.” 

Caleb Stagg smiled grimly and whispered 
to a couple of his men, who hurried across 
the enclosure to the wagons and quickly re- 
turned with Pybus Foulfoot. They thrust 
the prisoner forward, his arms still bound, 


358 With Puritan and Pequot 

and confronted him with Laplash and Le 
Casson. 

“ Is this your missing comrade ? ’’ Stagg 
demanded. 

‘‘ It is,” Laplash admitted. 

‘‘ Well, sir, perhaps you’d like to hear what 
he’s been up to. Attempted murder, no less. 
’Twas only by God’s mercy that Master Jenni- 
com escaped.” 

“Master Jennicom?” exclaimed Laplash. 
“ Foulfoot, is this true?” he added sternly. 
“ What have you to say ? ” 

“ ’Tis not true, as you might know,” de- 
clared the knave, with a cunning leer. “ I’ve 
fallen among enemies, and they want to swear 
my life awa3^ Come, sir, speak up,” he con- 
tinued in a lower tone that held a threat. “ I 
look to you to get me out of this scrape.” 

“To me?” 

“ Ay, and ’tis no use to pretend you don’t 
understand.” 

Laplash started violently, as if an inkling 
of the truth had suddenly flashed to his 
brain. “ My boy, will you let me hear your 
story ? ” he asked quietly of Rufus. 

Having no desire to spare the ruffian, little 


With Puritan and Pequot 359 

dreaming of the fierce passions that his words 
were to let loose, Rufus revealed, so far as he 
could fit the links together, the dastardly plot 
by which he had nearly lost his life. By way 
of corroboration, though none was needed, 
Humfrey told of his timely and providential 
arrival on the scene. 

“You treacherous dog ! You black-hearted, 
cowardly scoundrel ! cried Laplash, turning 
upon Foulfoot with blazing eyes. “ So that’s 
why you slipped away from camp— to commit 
foul murder, to make an end of the brave lad 
you’ve long hated because more than once 
he’s thwarted your evil projects. Look you, 
sirrah, I’ve done with you for good and all, 
and I wish you had never crossed my path. 
By heavens, if I were your judge you should 
hang this minute. ’Twill not be many hours, 
I trust, till you dance in air.” 

“ You throw me over, then ? ” Foulfoot 
asked hoarsely. 

“ Ay, gladly,” Laplash exclaimed. “ Off 
with you to the gallows.” 

Foulfoot laughed — a mirthless, bitter laugh 
of despair and hate. 

“ You’ve put the rope about my neck, and 


360 With Puritan and Pequot 

ril do the same for you/’ he snarled, trem- 
bling with rage. If I sought to kill the lad, 
who prompted me to it? Who offered two 
hundred guineas for the death of Master 
Jennicom ? ” 

“ Stop ! ” cried Laplash, his face going from 
crimson to gray. “ Two — hundred — guineas ! ” 
He drew a hand across his brow, and stared 
about him in a bewildered manner. God 
forgive me,” he murmured. I — I had for- 
gotten. If such words ever passed my lips 
’twas when ” 

There was a moment of strained and breath- 
less silence. Foulfoot, whose wrists were tug- 
ging convulsively, suddenly freed his arms 
from the loosened cords. In a trice, snatch- 
ing a hunting-knife from the belt of a mus- 
keteer who stood beside him, he lifted the 
weapon and drove it deep between Laplash’s 
ribs. As quickly, clearing a space with the 
reeking blade, he broke away from the spot 
and dashed with a frenzied howl across the 
enclosure, in the direction of the Connecticut. 

For a second or two, so swift and daring 
was the deed, all were paralyzed with horror. 
Then some ran to Laplash and raised him 


With Puritan and Pequot 361 

from the ground, while the rest, led by Dollier, 
gave hot chase to the assassin. He had al- 
ready gained the palisade, and scrambling to 
the top like a cat, he leaped down on the 
outer side. By the time his pursuers mounted 
the platform he was nowhere in sight, having 
covered the short intervening distance and 
dropped below the shelving bank. 

Unhand me ! Let me go ! ” cried Le 
Casson, for the moment a raving madman, as 
he struggled with those who prevented him 
from following the slayer of his friend. 

Hold him tight,^^ shouted Caleb Stagg. 

Tis dangerous to leave the enclosure — and 
useless as well. The murderer won’t escape. 
I’ll warrant the redskins make short work of 
him.” 

He had hardly spoken when a chorus of 
ear-splitting whoops and yells rose on the air, 
and the next instant Foulfoot was seen wad- 
ing frantically out into the river, toward mid- 
stream, with four painted savages splashing 
after him. They quickly came up with him, 
submerged to the waist, and a cry of agony 
was drowned in exultant shrieks. A toma- 
hawk flashed and fell, and for a brief instant 


362 With Puritan and Pequot 

a dripping scalp was held aloft. Then Foul- 
foot’s mutilated body sank, and back sped the 
Indians to the shelter of the bank. They 
were at the mercy of the group on the plat- 
form, but not a shot was fired. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


IN WHICH VAYLMER LAPLASH SPEAKS, AND THE 
DAWN BREAKS IN RED FURY 

The day of many events, begun with hope- 
ful anticipations and protracted through hours 
of strife and peril and apprehension, was 
slowly drawing to an end. 

The sentries, grimly silent and troubled, 
kept vigil with loaded muskets, watching 
from all four sides of the enclosure. A little 
group of men stood by the gate, discussing the 
chances of help from Wethersfield, and the 
reasons why it was so long delayed ; which 
subject had, for the time being, put the recent 
tragedy from their thoughts. Vaylmer Laplash 
lay mortally wounded in the house, where 
his devoted comrades were doing all that was 
possible for him. Thanks to the skill of Dr. 
Gascoyne, and the potent drugs he had 
brought with him, Sir Lanslott Charmion^s 
condition was much improved. He was now 
sleeping peacefully, and Annis had been as- 
363 


364 With Puritan and Pequot 

sured that the relapse was not a serious mat- 
ter, though convalescence might be very slow. 
She, like the others of her sex, was far from 
suspecting the fears which the men openl}^ 
admitted among themselves. 

If the Pequots meant to attack us again, 
why did they waste the afternoon ? ” said 
Rufus, who was one of the party by the gate. 
“ Perhaps they’ve gone off.” 

'' Not a bit of it, lad,” replied Tom Gun- 
stone, as he put his eyes to a loophole. They 
are lurking yonder as thick as ever, depend 
on it. But ’tis contrary to their nature to fight 
by dark, so we’re safe till the dawn, anyway.” 

“ Man, you’re right,” assented Caleb Stagg. 

While by day a redskin is as full of contriv- 
ance as an egg is of meat, he may be trusted 
to lie low after nightfall. If we’re to be left 
in peace till the morning, perhaps one of us 
may be able to slip off to the settlement. ’Tis 
too far for the sound of musketry-fire to-carry, 

and unless ” He stopped as footsteps 

rapidly approached. “ Here comes the doc- 
tor,” he said in an undertone. 

“ Ay, and his face tells the worst,” muttered 
Philemon Kent. 


With Puritan and Pequot 365 

Ralph Gascoyne looked haggard and ill. 
Singling Rufus out from the throng, he tapped 
him on the shoulder. 

“ You’re wanted yonder,” said he. La- 
plash sent me, and the sooner you go to him 
the better.” 

Is he very bad, then ? ” asked Rufus. 

“ He is dying, my lad,” was the blunt re- 
ply. “ He can’t last much longer.” 

Why Rufus had been summoned he did not 
know, save that it must have something to do 
with Foulfoot’s incredible accusation. Stirred 
by pity more than by curiosity, he made his 
way to the house. He passed through the 
outer room where Sir Lanslott lay, and on the 
threshold of the rear apartment Le Casson 
and Nathaniel Brewster brushed by him. He 
entered alone, and some one closed the door 
softly. 

“ That you, Jennicom ? ” inquired a voice 
that was sadly changed yet recognizable. 

Ay, you sent for me,” Rufus answered. 

His eyes growing accustomed to the gloom 
— the only window was high up in the wall — 
he moved forward to the rude bed on which 
Vaylmer Laplash was stretched, his head and 


366 With Puritan and Pequot 

shoulders slightly raised among pillows stuffed 
with maize-husks. His eyes were bright, and 
patches of carmine burned on each cheek. 

“ Stand here,” he said, where I can see 
you. I’ve much on my mind that must be 
told — why ! you’re never grieving for me. 
For me, who have wronged you so deeply ! ” 

You never wronged me, sir.” 

Ay, but I have,” Laplash insisted ear- 
nestly. Listen, my boy. Come closer. My 
time is short, and I would speak while I’ve 
strength left and am in little pain. Tell me 
how much you know of your own history, of 
your parentage.” 

I only know that I am the son of Carver 
Jennicom and his wife Patience,” Rufus an- 
swered, thinking the question to be prompted 
by a fevered and disordered mind. 

And that is just what you are not. You’re 
quite unaware, then, of the truth ? Madman ' 
that I was to put any faith in Foulfoot, to be- 
lieve that you were other than ignorant and 
undesigning ! ” 

For a moment, after this astounding state- 
ment, there was silence in the room, except 
for the quick, deep breathing of the two as 


With Puritan and Pequot 367 

they gazed steadily into each other’s eyes. 
From without the house echoed the tread of 
pacing sentries and the thud of a firelock 
brought to earth. 

My boy,” Laplash said at length, “ you 
are my blood relation, my cousin through 
your mother’s side of the family. She was 
my aunt, my mother’s sister, and your father 
was Charles Vaylmer, of Cranbrook Hall, in 
Hampshire, England, which is near to my 
home and to the seat of Sir Lanslott Char- 
mion. As for yourself, Arthur Vaylmer is 
your rightful name, and you’re the heir to 
riches of which I’ve long deprived you, though 
till recently I had no idea that you were in 
existence.” 

Do you really mean this? ” gasped Rufus. 

On my soul ’tis true, every word of it,” 
swore Laplash. Foulfoot has told me, 
though I’d have put little faith in his state- 
ment, had it not been supported by incidents 
that come within my own memory, by much 
that I was told as a boy. You are the son and 
heir of an English gentleman, who was a per- 
sonal friend of Sir Lanslott Charmion. And 
the resemblance you bear to your father — a 


368 With Puritan and Pequot 

portrait of him hangs in our hall at home — is 
most striking.’’ 

Rufus believed. Conviction, sinking deep 
into his bewildered mind, banished the last 
doubt. Many things that had puzzled him 
before, circumstance crowding on circum- 
stance, now stood clearly revealed. He lis- 
tened eagerly, hanging on every sentence, as 
Laplash continued in faltering tones : 

“ Your father — forgive me — came of a wild 
race, and his end was a sad one. After your 
mother’s death — she left him a vast fortune — 
he plunged headlong into dissipation, and one 
fatal night, when you were an infant, he and 
two companions lost their lives in a fire 
that destroyed Cranbrook Hall. And you 
were supposed to have perished with them, 
though no trace of the body could be 
found.” 

“ And how ” began Rufus. 

‘‘ How did you escape, you would say ? 
You have Carver Jennicom to thank for that, 
or rather Anthony Rennet, to give him the 
name he bore then. He was gamekeeper on 
the estate, and his wife Patience was your 
nurse. ’Twas he, I believe, who rescued you 


With Puritan and Pequot 369 

from the flames, and hid you away for a time. 
They hoped by bringing you up as their son 
to save you from the family curse. 

Laplash was silent for a moment ; he was 
struggling hard to maintain his strength. 

“ Vve nearly finished,’’ he went on. This 
knave of a Foulfoot was Hampshire bred also. 
Compelled to flee the country, he drifted to 
New England, penetrated Jennicom’s dis- 
guise, and at length discovered his secret 
through a diary in which your adopted father 

had set down your full history ” 

I know,” exclaimed Rufus, a fresh light 
dawning on him. 

’Twas Foulfoot,” the weak voice resumed, 
who put the evil into my heart, who swore 
to me that you knew the whole truth and 
were determined to proceed to England to 
dispossess me. And I, — I was very near to 
hating you, lad. But as God is my witness I 
would never have done you harm. I had no 
share, or knowledge of, any designs on your 
life, though appearances were against me. 
As for the bid of two hundred guineas for 
your death, the words passed my lips in a 
moment of temper, when I was not myself. 


370 With Puritan and Pequot 

Dear lad, if ’tis not too much to ask, can 
you forgive me? ” 

“ Indeed, there is nothing to forgive,’' 
Rufus assured him. He could say no 
more, but kneeling by the side of the bed 
he clasped one of the dying man’s fevered 
hands. 

Laplash smiled, and his lips moved in- 
audibly. 

“ I am going fast,” he said with an effort. 
You’ve a clear title to the fortune, and there 
are lawyers in London who will smooth the 
way. Yet, if you’ll take my advice, you will 
remain in the colonies. I believe that Carver 
Jennicom’s experiment has been a success. 
’Twould be a pity to spoil you — to ” 

The faltering voice stopped entirely, but 
Rufus seemed still to hear it ringing in his 
ears, and it was as if two voices were blended 
in one. For the moment, his thoughts rang- 
ing far, he was back at the lonely camp in the 
forest, listening to Roger Williams. It was 
more than strange, he told himself, that the 
eloquent words spoken by the simple-minded 
minister should have been almost identical, 
breathing the same earnest warning, with 


With Puritan and Pequot 371 

those which he had just heard from the lips 
of the worldly, reckless young profligate. 

He looked down at Laplash, noted the 
glazing eyes and the gray hue of the cheeks, 
and uttered a quick cry that brought Dr. 
Gascoyne and several others on the scene. 
One glance, and the doctor shook his head. 
Recognizing Annis and Le Casson, who stood 
at either side of him, the dying man smiled 
faintly. 

“ Sweet mistress, think as kindly of me as 
you can,” he whispered. Dollier, ever 
faithful friend and comrade, be not dis- 
tressed ” 

He tried to reach forth his hand, but it 
dropped limply. His eyelids closed. 

All is over,” Nathaniel Brewster said 
reverently. 

Annis was gently led away in tears, and 
Le Casson, throwing himself at the foot of the 
bed, wept like a child. When presently he 
rose his grief was under marvelous control, 
and not a muscle of his calm, impassive face 
quivered. 

My friends, I ask of you a favor,” he said. 

Though I am a prisoner, a felon in your 


372 With Puritan and Pequot 

sight, I cannot believe that you will refuse. 
If the redskins attack us in the morning, will 
you permit me to bear arms against them ? 

“ Ay, if you wish it,” assented Caleb Stagg, 
who had meanwhile entered. Surely you’re 
to be trusted that far.” 

“ Monsieur, I thank you from my heart,” 
Le Casson replied, with a low bow ; and turn- 
ing on his heel walked slowly from the room. 

That a desperate attack would be made be- 
fore the night had entirely passed was a matter 
of common belief, and come it did at the ex- 
pected time, in the early hours of the morn- 
ing, when the daybreak was hovering between 
darkness and dawn. The scores of dusky 
figures, advancing stealthily through the chill 
purple light, were discovered at long range 
by the vigilant sentries, who were prompt to 
give the alarm that called their comrades from 
heavy sleep. Shouting to one another, rub- 
bing their drowsy eyes, they ran to loophole 
and platform to meet the danger. 

The Pequots, who could not have numbered 
less than a hundred, first attacked on three 
sides, coming on with desperate and reckless 


With Puritan and Pequot 373 

valor. But this movement, which proved to 
be only a cloak to cover more formidable de- 
signs, was easily repulsed, and with severe loss 
to the enemy, who fell back in apparent con- 
sternation. The garrison, among whom not a 
single casualty had occurred, hastily reloaded 
while they discussed the outlook. A san- 
guine feeling prevailed, some holding that 
any number of assaults could be withstood, 
others going so far as to predict that the siege 
would be raised without further fighting. 

Alas ! these were vain and elusive hopes, an 
unsuspected tribute to the wily foe. The 
brief breathing-spell, begun at the instant 
when the savages withdrew, was at an end not 
three minutes later. A sentry’s cry of alarm 
from the south angle of the enclosure, in which 
it will be remembered the gate was set, sum- 
moned all to that side, where they beheld a 
truly startling sight. A dozen stalwart sav- 
ages, picked for speed and strength, had 
sprung up as if from nowhere, and were dash- 
ing straight for the stockade, bearing between 
them, by the short, spiky remnants of its 
lopped off branches, the trunk of a by-no- 
means slender pine-tree. The purpose of the 


374 With Puritan and Pequot 

group was unmistakable, and behind them, 
and to right and left, the main body of the 
Indians were in force, having swarmed round 
under cover of the steep shore of the Con- 
necticut. 

“ God help us, men, if they get to close 
quarters,” shouted Philemon Kent. “ ’Twill 
be all up with us. Remain here, every one 
of you,” he added. 

Nay, we mustn’t leave our rear and flanks 
unguarded,” protested Tom Gunstone. 

“ True for that,” cried Caleb Stagg. “ The 
danger is all on this side, I’m thinking, but 

Nathaniel Brewster, do you patrol the 

other platforms and keep watch.” 

Rufus and Humfrey, who were together, 
looked at each other with blanched faces, 
unable to hide their terror for a moment, and 
then turned pluckily to take their part in the 
defense. They dared not trust themselves to 
think of what would happen if the attack 
succeeded. 

A few seconds — painfully long they seemed 
— slipped by in breathless suspense. The day 
was breaking more fully, but the farther dis- 
tances were still mantled by a gray gloom, and 


With Puritan and Pequot 375 

the surface of the river was hidden by rolling 
mists. The tree-bearers loomed nearer and 
nearer, quickening their speed, and behind 
them came a living, painted wave of savages, 
as yet ominously silent. 

“ Ready ! warned Caleb Stagg. “ Aim at 
the fellows with the pine.” 

The first shot flashed and roared, more fol- 
lowing immediately. Whoops and yells, 
poured from each dusky throat, rose in one 
fierce, bloodthirsty clamor. Two of the war- 
riors who bore the tree fell, either dead or 
wounded, and others at once took their places. 
The garrison held their fire for a moment — 
every shot would be sorely needed — and that 
short interval brought the enemy almost to 
the stockade. 

Now was the critical time. So thickly flew 
the arrows that not a man dared show his 
head above the palisading. They fired from 
the loopholes right and left of the gateway, 
and yet, alas ! fired in vain. For, one after 
another, fresh warriors bounded eagerly to 
the sacrifice, and with fanatical zeal hurled 
the heavy battering-ram on to its sinister pur- 
pose. As the first terrible blow was launched 


376 With Puritan and Pequot 

against the timbers, tearing several of them 
loose, Caleb Stagg leaped from the platform 
with a groan of despair. 

“ To the house ! to the house ! ” he cried 
to his companions, who followed his ex- 
ample. 

They darted across the enclosure, rage and 
dread in their hearts, maddened shrieks and 
the thunder of smashing blows ringing in 
their ears. Pausing halfway — where Na- 
thaniel Brewster joined them — they looked 
back just as the massive gate toppled inward, 
falling in a chaos of splintered beams. Al- 
ready, with yells of triumph, the horde were 
swarming through the breach. 

A volley would have proved futile at such 
a time, and not a charge was wasted. The 
little band sped on, with arrows winging in 
pursuit, and were quickly within the shelter 
of the house. The shutters of every window 
had previously been closed, and it was the 
work of an instant to put up the heavy bars 
of the door. 

We are in God’s hands,” said Nathaniel 
Brewster. He will give us strength.” 

We’ll be needing it sorely,” muttered 



MASSIVE GA TE TOPPLED INWARD 




With Puritan and Pequot 377 

Stagg. To your posts, men,'' he added. 
“ Here they come ! " 

The interval was of scarcely a minute's 
duration. The house was at first attacked 
from all four sides, and the garrison, divided 
among the three rooms, poured a cool and 
destructive fire from the numerous loopholes. 
The children were made to lie fiat on the 
floor, and the women bravely loaded the 
men's weapons. Fortunately ammunition 
was plentiful, and there were spare firelocks 
to be had. Dollier Le Casson was one of 
those occupying the death-chamber, and more 
than once, amid the volleying musketry, his 
pathetic gaze turned to the bed where Vayl- 
mer Laplash lay in his long sleep, with the 
powder-smoke hovering over his waxen fea- 
tures. 

The redskins soon withdrew, leaving dead 
and wounded behind, and sought what cover 
was available. But meanwhile they were 
hatching fresh mischief, which Rufus was the 
first to discover. 

They are bringing the tree ! " he shouted. 

Some of the defenders climbed hurriedly to 
the loft, where, through a row of loophole^ 


378 With Puritan and Pequot 

pointing downward, they could command the 
approach to the door. The latter was as well 
protected from the ground floor, and as the 
half-score of warriors drew near, bearing the 
pine, they encountered so deadly a Are that 
seven of their number dropped. The re- 
mainder abandoned the log and fled. 

Again the besieged enjoyed a brief lull, and 
again hope faded — now to utter and terrible 
despair — as the undaunted savages let fly a 
cloud of arrows to which were attached flam- 
ing bunches of dried grass that had been 
smeared in bear’s oil. Many of these lodged 
on the roof, setting fire to it, and under 
cloak of this diversion a great heap of straw 
was brought from the stable, piled against one 
end of the house, and ignited. Soon the floor 
of the loft was blazing in two places, and 
smoke and sparks began to make the lower 
rooms unendurable. 

Thicker and denser grew the smoke, pour- 
ing down from above. The roaring of the 
flames increased, and ever faster fell the 
sparks, dancing in the stifling, heated atmos- 
phere. 

The end was near. To be burned to death. 


With Puritan and Pequot 379 

or to perish by the tomahawk and the axe — 
which was it to be ? But before the doomed 
little band could settle the question, just when 
they realized that the choice must be made 
without further delay, a wonderful thing hap- 
pened. Rufus, whom none had missed, burst 
suddenly into the main room where all were 
assembled. His eyelids and clothing were 
singed ; his hands were black and blis- 
tered. 

IVe been in the loft — looking out the 
loopholes,^’ he cried hoarsely. Help is com- 
ing ! White men — lots of them — are climb- 
ing over the top of the bank not fifty yards 
up the river.” 

Wholly indescribable, not to be pictured in 
words, was the scene that followed the lad’s 
announcement, which no one thought of 
doubting. Loud above the clamor rang 
Caleb Stagg’s voice. 

“ Every man to the front,” he shouted, 
“ women and children keep to the rear. We’ll 
rush out and give the varmints a volley, and 
by then the Wethersfield party will have 
taken them in fiank.” 

No sooner said than done. Dollier Le 


380 With Puritan and Pequot 

Casson, the first to unbar the door and throw 
it open, immediately fell backward with an 
arrow buried deep in his heart. “ Vaylmer, 

mon ami ” he gasped, and died with a 

smile on his lips. 

Leaping over the threshold into the sweet, 
fresh air, the half-suffocated men emptied 
their firelocks into the thick of the dancing, 
howling redskins who swarmed before the 
house. Missiles flew rapidly, killing Tom 
Gunstone and wounding several others, and 
then, a crowd of Connecticut settlers pouring 
the next instant through the ruined gateway, 
cheering and discharging muskets, a panic of 
fear seized upon the surprised and startled 
Indians. Pursued from two sides, many were 
ruthlessly slaughtered, the greater part escap- 
ing by leaping to the platform and throwing 
themselves over the stockade. 

Meanwhile the women and children had 
left the burning house, and Rufus and Hum- 
frey, having carried Sir Lanslott to the open 
air, brought out the body of Vaylmer Laplash, 
covered with a blanket. By now the enclos- 
ure had been cleared of the savages, and the 
relief-force — more than a score of Wethersfield 


With Puritan and Pequot 381 


men — were mingling with the rescued and 
grateful garrison. 

'‘Are we all here?’' inquired Philemon 
Kent, when the tumult had subsided a little. 
" None left behind ? ” 

" Nay, where is Rose ? ” exclaimed Nathaniel 
Brewster, turning pale as he glanced about him. 

" My child ! My poor child ! ” shrieked 
Mistress Brewster. 

Rose was nowhere to be seen, nor could any 
remember if she had rushed out with the 
others. Humfrey, who had crossed to the far 
side of the palisade to watch the retreating 
savages, was ignorant of his sister’s disappear- 
ance, and as for the men gathered about the 
distracted parents, their first thought was to 
search the enclosure. 

" I’ll find her,” cried Rufus. 

With that he made a dash for the house, 
but was intercepted by Annis, who clung to 
his arm. 

" Stay ! ” she pleaded. “ ’Tis madness, 
Rufus. You will be burned to death ” 

" Let me go,” he said sharply. He shook the 
girl off and sped on his way. The next instant 
he had vanished through the open doorway'. 


382 With Puritan and Pequot 

Though the roof was now wrapped in 
flames, and the interior of the house was nat- 
urally supposed to be too hot for endurance, 
the brief interval that had elapsed had really 
made little difference, so far as the lower floor 
was concerned. Sparks showered around the 
plucky lad, and he was enveloped by pungent 
billows of smoke, as he groped across the main 
room in the scorching atmosphere, turning 
this way and that while he called the missing 
girl by name. There was no response, and 
each second increased his terrible anxiety. 
His voice was growing husky, and he was on 
the point of abandoning the search in despair, 
when a faint, choking cry came to his ears. 

Following the direction of the sound, he 
steered a course to the end wall. The girl 
was lying flat, with her face close to the logs, 
and her life had undoubtedly been saved by 
the fresh air that Altered through the crevices. 
A whiff* of it partly revived the lad as he 
stooped and picked up the slim form. Gasp- 
ing for breath, beating the sparks aside with 
one arm while in the other he tightly held 
his burden, he pushed toward the door. He 
fought on desperately, blinded half the time, 


With Puritan and Pequot 383 

catching an occasional glimpse of light amid 
the murky smoke- wreaths, and at last he stag- 
gered into the open air, to be greeted by 
cheering loud and long. 

Rose opened her eyes and looked up to the 
flushed and heated face of her rescuer. Ru- 
fus,” she said almost inaudibly, “ you — won't 
— go — to England ? ” 

No answer gave the lad, but there was great 
peace and happiness in his heart, and he 
knew that the problem of the future was 
solved, as he put the little maid into her 
mother's arms. 

The redskins, having had enough flghting 
to last them for a time, either fled from the 
neighborhood or lurked out of sight in the 
forest. By noonday the dead had been buried 
— Laplash and Le Casson in one grave — and of 
the house nothing remained but a heap of 
blackened and smouldering ruins. Soon af- 
terward a start was made for the flat-boats in 
which the relief-force had crossed over — they 
had been left under guard a half-mile down 
the river — and evening found the whole party 
safe at Wethersfleld. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


IN WHICH RUFUS MAKES HIS CHOICE 

The governor’s patch of garden lay steeped 
in bright, warm sunshine, which was pleas- 
antly tempered by the breath of the west 
wind, laden with the scent of deep woods and 
clover meadows, that rustled the boughs of 
the sturdy young pine-trees. The droning of 
bees revelling in sips of honey, and the per- 
fume of flowers and shrubs, floated through 
the open window-casement into the cheerful 
dining-room, where the chief magistrate and 
one of his distinguished guests — the other had 
finished and flown — sat still lingering over 
their breakfast and incidentally discussing 
the subject that filled their minds. From 
beyond the palisade, from quarters far and 
near, came a continuous trampling of feet and 
a murmuring sound of many voices ; for 
every man, woman, and child was abroad, 
and every heart was beating with a common 
excitement. 


384 


With Puritan and Pequot 385 

“ If they broke camp at daybreak/' said 
Sir Lanslott Charmion, they should arrive 
within the next hour." 

‘‘ Ay, easily that," assented William Brad- 
ford. ‘‘ They won't be long." 

'Twill be indeed a triumphal return for 
our gallant young gentleman," continued the 
baronet. “ Good fortune has not spoiled him, 
so much is certain. He is worthy of it all, 
and will gracefully fill any position he may 
be called to. The very first time I clapped 
eyes on him I remember I was vastly struck 
by his appearance — 'twas when he came 
aboard the Mary gold with Carver Jennicom. 

‘ Sink me ! but there's blood and breeding,' 
said I to myself. And now, to think of it ! 
the lad is heir to an ancient name and a 
splendid estate, qualifications which will put 
him in high favor at court." 

The colonies have greater need of him," 
thought the Governor ; but kept silence. 

“ He was strangely apathetic, to tell the 
truth," Sir Lanslott went on, “ and seemed 
reluctant to let his adopted father know that 
the secret was unmasked, though by persua- 
sion I won his consent. 'Twas no small relief 


386 With Puritan and Pequot 

to learn, on arriving at Plymouth, that Jenni- 
com had already unburdened himself of the 
whole story and made you his confidant. 
I’ve had speech with him on several occa- 
sions, but he let fall nothing that might serve 
as a compass to his mind.” 

He is a man of few words,” replied the 
Governor. 

He shuffled uneasily in his seat, for the sub- 
ject was growing distasteful to him. The door 
opened and Mistress Annis passed through 
the room on her way to the garden, a broad- 
rimmed hat, gay with plumes and buckle, 
perched on her raven tresses. She blew a kiss 
to her father and whisked daintily out of sight. 

“ Saucy baggage ! ” exclaimed Sir Lanslott. 
‘‘ ’Tis high time I took her home — she’s been 
having her own way entirely too much, and 
is quite spoiled. We shall sail for England 
within forty-eight hours, and I hope that 
Rufus — to call him by his old name — will ac- 
company us. The sooner he presents his 
claim, and sets the lawyers to work, the 
sooner he will come into his own. Do you 
suppose that Jennicom will raise any ob- 
jections? ” 


With Puritan and Pequot 387 

On the contrary, sir,” replied the Governor, 

I think you will find that Carver Jennicom 
is resigned to the inevitable, and that he will 
put no difficulties whatever in the lad’s way.” 

‘‘Nor could he if he would, strictly 
speaking.” 

“ Very true. What Jennicom wishes is a 
different matter. You do not know him as I 
do. Sir Lanslott. He is a man of sterling 
worth and character, and you must at least 
admit that his motives throughout have been 
to his credit.” 

“ To the credit of his heart and affections, 
sir. I’ll not deny it. Yet I cannot but think 
that he has shown a lack of sound judgment.” 

With that, shrugging his shoulders. Sir 
Lanslott rose and stepped to the window ; 
and Governor Bradford, leaning back in his 
chair with a sigh, tried to fix his mind on the 
stirring address which he would shortly be 
called upon to deliver. 

It was a great and glorious day for Ply- 
mouth. In honor of the expected event, 
which was no less than the return of the 
fighting contingent sent against the Pequots, 
Sunday attire had been donned, though Sun- 


388 With Puritan and Pequot 

day faces were not worn with it ; everywhere, 
indeed, the proverbial Puritan countenance, 
wry and sour, was conspicuously absent. 
Flags and banners danced in the breeze, 
flapping over the crowd that surged to and 
fro, constantly agitated by rumors that 
proved to be false. In the square Jeremy 
Quills — a proud centre of attraction — stood 
by the pieces of cannon, ready to thunder 
forth a salute at the auspicious moment. On 
board the Marygold, which swung at anchor 
off the harbor, a culverin had been loaded by 
Captain Teague’s command, and was to 
hurl back the rolling echoes of the town 
artillery. 

The war was ended — or nearly so — and the 
Pequots had received such a crushing, well- 
nigh exterminating blow, that their power to 
harm the Connecticut settlements was des- 
troyed forever. Preparations had been stead- 
ily pushed forward during the spring, and 
just before the time fixed for action, the re- 
sult of the operations being in some doubt, a 
number of women and children of Wethers- 
field had been sent for safety to Plymouth, 
which was the nearest point in New England. 


With Puritan and Pequot 389 

Rose and her mother came with them, and 
Nathaniel Brewster was one of the escort. 
Sir Lanslott and Annis were also of the party, 
for the baronet^s convalescence had been very 
slow, and it was expected that the sea air 
would benefit him ; it had done even more, 
and now, after a fortnight of Governor Brad- 
ford’s hospitality, he was in the full vigor of 
health. The Marygold, directly her captain 
received instructions to that effect, had 
cruised down the coast from Boston, where at 
the time a newly-appointed chief magistrate 
ruled in Governor Vane’s stead. 

The New England colonies having con- 
tributed the quota of men asked for by 
Governor Winthrop, the Hartford forces 
under Captain Mason — to which Rufus be- 
longed — joined Captain Underhill’s Plymouth 
detachment, and in three vessels they pro- 
ceeded to the neighborhood of Narragansett 
Bay. They disembarked on the 20th of May, 
and without waiting for the belated Mas- 
sachusetts men, they advanced stealthily 
against the Pequot fort, which was on the 
high bank of the river Mystic. They were 
accompanied by a force of Indian allies, in- 


390 With Puritan and Pequot 

eluding Narragansetts, Ny an tics, and seventy 
Mohegans led by the chief Uncas. 

It need only be said that the operations 
were entirely successful. After a brief but 
spirited resistance the stronghold was taken. 
The torch was ruthlessly applied, and while 
columns of flame and smoke mounted luridly 
into the murky night, the incessant rattle of 
musketry well-nigh drowned the shrieks of 
the vanquished and the clamor of the victors. 
During the attack Rufus Jennicom distin- 
guished himself on several occasions, notably 
when, at the risk of his own life and at the 
cost of a slight wound, he saved Captain Mason 
from the tomahawk of an enraged savage. 

As the minutes wore on, and the sun 
climbed higher into the sky, the tumult and 
bustle increased and rumor followed rumor 
at short intervals. Though Sir Lanslott’s 
eyes rested on the surging mass in the square, 
in fancy he was far, far away, delving amid 
the dead and gone years, recalling scenes and 
faces and voices. 

“ To think of it ! ’’ he said to himself. The 
son of my old friend ! Poor Charles Vaylmer ! 
A short life and a merry one, like all the 


With Puritan and Pequot 391 

Vaylmers. Twould be a pity if this gallant 
boy proves to have inherited the family curse. 
If ’tis in the blood England will bring it out. 
I trust the day will never dawn when I shall 

have cause to regret ’’he unconsciously 

added aloud, and stopped. 

Did you address me, sir ? ” asked the 
Governor, the thread of his thoughts thus 
broken into. 

They are coming ! ” cried Annis, throwing 
open the door. “ Really coming this time. 
Father, make haste.” 

The Governor and Sir Lanslott stepped 
quickly to the garden, where others had 
already been admitted by a servant, includ- 
ing several of the town selectmen, Captain 
Miles Standish and Rose Brewster and her 
parents. Carver Jennicom was also present, 
his rugged, impassive face telling nothing of 
his inward feelings. 

To hear oneself speak was almost impossible. 
It was no false report, without doubt, that 
stirred the crowd. Clear and shrill in the 
distance sounded the fanfare of a bugle, and 
loud on the brazen notes struck up the throb- 
bing roll of drums. Eager cries rang like 


392 With Puritan and Pequot 

wildfire from lip to lip. A cannon on the 
roof of the fort crashed a thunderous welcome, 
and while the echoes still reverberated Jeremy 
Quills touched off the pieces of ordnance in 
the square, and Captain Teague’s little cul- 
verin barked joyously from the deck of the 
Marygold. Beadles hurriedly cleared a space 
before the Governor’s house, and men, women, 
and children were wedged eight and ten deep 
into animate walls of shouting humanity. 

“ They are coming ! ” exclaimed Annis, as 
she slipped her arm around Rose. “ Oh ! how 
I wish I was a soldier. Your brother is with 
them — and Rufus. Some day he will wear 
the scarlet uniform of the Life Guards, and 
the King will be as proud of him as we are 
now. Why ! how sad you look. Rose.” 

“ Nay, do I ? ” the little Puritan maid an- 
swered tremulously, with a brave smile that 
hid an aching heart. 

There was a glimpse of steel and leather up 
the street. Necks were craned and a thrill 
convulsed the spectators. Amid cheering 
long and loud, to the sonorous music of 
drums, on came the travel-worn column, 
marching with proud step and uplifted 


With Puritan and Pequot 393 

heads, until, just before the Governor's open 
gateway, a ringing word of command brought 
them to a halt. The sun, sliding from under 
a passing cloud, lighted up the bronzed, 
soldierly faces, grave with the importance of 
the occasion, and shone on the fringed mocas- 
sins and w^ampum-belts, the uncouth rattles, 
and strings of bears’ claws and pipes gay with 
tufts of dyed elk-hair and wings of the red- 
bird — trophies all of the fight in the Con- 
necticut swamp — that decorated many a mus- 
ket-barrel and broad-rimmed hat. Humfrey 
waved a hand to his parents, and Rufus — 
there he was in the second file, with his right 
arm slung in a bandage — looked toward the 
Governor’s party and flushed from chin to 
temple. 

As a wave rolls back after smiting a rock- 
bound coast, so the tumult ebbed to a 
murmurous silence when Governor Bradford 
stepped forward and spread out his arms. 

“ Friends and neighbors,” he began, my 
gallant men, Plymouth has cause to be proud 
of you to-day r” 

He spoke briefly and well, with stirring elo- 
quence, and then Captain Standish added a 


394 With Puritan and Pequot 

few words and formally dismissed the re- 
turned soldiers, who scattered in search of 
those nearest and dearest to them. At the 
Governor’s bidding Rufus and Humfrey en- 
tered the garden, to encounter warm greetings 
on all sides, and to feel the rapturous glow of 
young warriors who have won their guerdons 
on the field of battle. 

Carver Jennicom, holding aloof from the 
rest, gazed with yearning eyes until his 
adopted son approached him. His hard fea- 
tures softened as he rested his two hands on 
the other’s shoulders. 

Rufus, dear lad ! ” he cried in a faltering 
voice. 

Father ! I have come back to you again.” 

With one impulse, walking side by side, 
they sought the seclusion of the house, where 
for the present none followed them. Carver 
Jennicom hesitated, looking through the win- 
dow on the noisy, animated scene in the square. 

“ The time for concealment is past,” he said 
huskily. You know all, and ’tis best that 
you should. My boy, we are father and son 
no longer. The full story of my crime — as 
some would call it — you shall read in the 


With Puritan and Pequot 395 

diary that I began to keep when you were a 
tiny child. That IVe wronged you Til not 
deny. ’Twere nothing less, indeed, to tear 
you away from name and position and riches, 
to carry you over-sea, and nurture you amid 
the most humble surroundings, in a wild and 
barbarous land. And yet I did it with the 
fear of God before my eyes. My wife Patience 
and I were loyal servants to your father. 
From infancy we watched your growth, 
learned to love you, and to dread the shadow 
that threatened to blight your future. And 
so, when the day of temptation came, we be- 
lieved that it was our duty to snatch you as a 
brand from the burning, to save you from the 
curse of inheritance and the weakness of your 
forefathers. I was wrong — I see it now. 
Often IVe felt misgivings, have doubted the 

wisdom of the step that ” 

Nay, Pm the better for it,” Rufus broke in. 

“ Father, hear me ” 

I was wrong,” Jennicom repeated. Blood 
will tell. You are your father’s son, and 
higher ambitions call you with a voice that is 
stronger than mine. That you go forth into 
the world well-armed and girded, is the one 


396 With Puritan and Pequot 

ray of light in my sorrow. But the tie is sev- 
ered, my boy. Wealth and honors await 
Arthur Vaylmer across the sea, and I send 
you back to your own with my blessing and 
my prayers. You’ve a staunch friend in Sir 
Lanslott Charmion. May his guiding hand 
help you to overcome the frailties of the flesh 
and to lift the name of Vaylmer as high as 
any in England ! ” 

“ I need no guidance from Sir Lanslott,” 
declared Rufus, and as for my name, 
whether it be Vaylmer or Jennicom, I would 
rather lift it high in New England than in 
the Old World. And that I mean to do, 
father. I am not going to England ” 

‘‘Not going to England ? ” 

“ Nay, that I am not.” 

“ But Jtis too great a sacriflce, my boy. 
You are wronging yourself. And I may not 
keep you with me.” 

“ You’ll have to,” said Rufus. “ This is 
not a hasty decision. I’ve thought it over 
long and carefully, and I knew weeks ago 
what the choice must be. Governor Win- 
throp has promised to recommend me for an 
officer’s commission, and I intend to stay in 


With Puritan and Pequot 397 

the colonies, and grow up with them, and 
serve them as you’ve always wished me to do. 
’Tis useless to try to dissuade me — my mind 
is fixed.” 

There was that in the lad’s ringing tones, 
in the set expression of his fiushed and earnest 
face, which carried conviction with it and told 
Jennicom that argument would indeed be 
fruitless. Marveling greatly, dazed by the 
unexpected declaration which he could 
scarcely yet believe, he raised his eyes toward 
the ceiling. 

Truly wonderful,” he murmured in a 
tremulous voice, are the ways of Provi- 
dence ” 

“ You’ve good reason to be proud of your 
adopted son. Master Jennicom,” broke in Sir 
Lanslott Charmion, as he entered the room 
with others of the party. Faith ! I wish I 
had one like him.” 

“ He was lost and is found,” Jennicom an- 
swered reverently. “ Good friends, I cannot 
prevail upon him. He refuses to go to Eng- 
land ” 

Refuses? ” Sir Lanslott and the Governor 
cried together. 


398 With Puritan and Pequot 

“ Ay, even so.” 

“ And I mean it,” vowed Rufus, stepping 
forward. ‘‘ I am not ungrateful — don’t think 
that I am. But my place and heart are here, 
with those among whom I’ve grown up, and 
here I shall remain so long as I’ve a free will 
to choose.” 

From this determination he would not re- 
cede. Sir Lanslott, after he had got control 
of his disappointment and consternation, ac- 
cepted defeat in a most proper spirit. 

“ I’ll say no more,” he spoke up, clapping 
Rufus on the shoulder. “ You have my best 
wishes, and always will have. And if ever 
you repent, you will find me as ready to serve 
you as I am now.” 

‘‘ I thank you with all my heart, sir,” Rufus 
replied, “ and I am sorry to have grieved you, 
but I shall not change with time.” 

He looked briefly toward Rose, who was 
clinging to her father’s arm, and as he read 
the message her eyes swiftly flashed him he 
knew indeed that he had chosen the wiser and 
the happier part, and that the future could 
hold no regrets. 













